KEY POINTS:
It's been another tumultuous session of falls on global sharemarkets overnight (NZ time), as the fallout from US financial woes continues.
When a bad day finally came to an end on the local sharemarket yesterday, the NZX-50 had dropped 2.08 per cent. The index slid 71.4 points to
a close of 3429.43, its lowest level since March 2006.
On Wall Street, where all the trouble began early yesterday, investors remained somewhat skittish today. The Dow Jones industrials, which were down more than 175 points in early trading, recovered from that weak start and have just recently moved into positive territory.
The US Federal Reserve has positioned itself as a "lender of last resort", willing to assist ailing US banks and investment houses deal with bad debts.
President George W Bush has rushed to strike a note of calm to the turbulent situation, hailing the Fed's action and saying: "We've taken strong decisive action."
The president spoke after meeting at the White House with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and other members of his economic team. "We're in challenging times," Bush said.
Here's a round-up of the carnage that followed through the night:
LONDON
Britain's leading share index sank 3.86 per cent to hit its lowest closing level since late 2005 after the fire sale of US bank Bear Stearns sparked fears of more casualties from a global credit crisis.
The FTSE 100 fell for the third straight session to close down 217.3 points at 5,414.4.
EUROPE
European stocks sank more than 4 per cent to their lowest close in nearly 2-1/2 years as the fire sale of troubled Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns sparked a sharp sell-off among banks.
But the biggest casualty of the session was German engineering group Siemens, which plummeted 17 per cent after project delays and cancelled orders prompted it to issue a profit warning.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares ended 4.4 per cent lower at 1,199.80 points - its biggest one-day percentage drop since a 5.8 per cent slump on Jan. 21, driven by worries of a US recession and writeoffs in the financial sector.
Across the Continent:
* FRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 6,182.3 points, down 269.6 or 4.18 per cent.
* PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 4,431.04 points, down 161.11 or 3.51 per cent.
* ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 6,774.26 points, down 357.77 or 5.02 per cent.
* MILAN - The All Share Mibtel index closed at 23,371 points, down 852 or 3.52 per cent.
TOKYO
Stocks fell nearly 4 per cent to about a 2- year closing low, dragged down by exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp as the dollar hit a 13-year low against the yen, casting a cloud over their earnings outlooks.
The benchmark Nikkei average fell 3.71 per cent or 454.09 points to end at 11,787.51, its lowest finish since Aug. 8, 2005.
HONG KONG
Stocks tumbled more than 5 per cent, weighed by mounting fears of further fallout from the troubled credit markets after brokerage JPMorgan Chase bailed out stricken rival Bear Stearns.
The Hang Seng Index ended down 5.18 per cent or 1,152.50 to 21,084.61.
SYDNEY
Shares fell 2.3 per cent to a fresh one-and-a-half-year closing low, led by financials, as the sale of Bear Stearns fuelled fears that a deepening credit crisis
would see more victims emerge.
The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 119.9 points to 5,087, its lowest closing level since September 2006.
- REUTERS, NZHERALD STAFF