Global stocks drop as investors become panicked
Sunday, 12 October 2008
NEW YORK, Oct 11 (AFP): Global stock markets went into a freefall Friday as panicked investors found no place to hide, although Wall Street managed to stem the losses in a stomach-churning session of ups and downs.
Stock exchanges were in turmoil worldwide amid heightened worries about a raging financial firestorm that showed no signs of easing even as global finance officials met in Washington and new efforts were made to shore up troubled banks.
Some markets plunged 10 per cent in the worst performance since the 1987 stock crash as part of a global meltdown that began with Tokyo's 9.60 per cent nosedive.
"If you could measure the overall confidence level of investors, it would likely be so low that it would frighten the rest of the longs out of the market," said Kevin Giddis at Morgan Keegan.
"This is the scary part of the movie where the slasher is hiding in the shadows around the corner waiting to pounce."
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw early losses of as much as 700 points, and two sudden spurts into positive territory before closing down 128.00 points (1.49 per cent) at 8,451.19.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq managed a slim gain of 0.27 per cent and the Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 1.18 per cent.
The market saw a stomach-turning session at the end of a vicious week of selling that sent the Dow and S&P indexes tumbling 18 per cent.
"Pessimism is rampant," said Gregory Drahuschak at Janney Montgomery Scott.
"Forced selling has been a significant part of the market's drop in the last few days."
In an eight-minute speech in the White House Rose Garden, US President George W Bush sought to break a cycle of "uncertainty and fear" he blamed for aggravating the global financial meltdown, insisting US authorities can and will end the crisis.
But he offered no new remedies for the economic bloodbath, warning a fearful US public and jittery markets that "anxiety can feed anxiety," which can obscure efforts that have been made to end the crisis.
Stock exchanges were in turmoil worldwide amid heightened worries about a raging financial firestorm that showed no signs of easing even as global finance officials met in Washington and new efforts were made to shore up troubled banks.
Some markets plunged 10 per cent in the worst performance since the 1987 stock crash as part of a global meltdown that began with Tokyo's 9.60 per cent nosedive.
"If you could measure the overall confidence level of investors, it would likely be so low that it would frighten the rest of the longs out of the market," said Kevin Giddis at Morgan Keegan.
"This is the scary part of the movie where the slasher is hiding in the shadows around the corner waiting to pounce."
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw early losses of as much as 700 points, and two sudden spurts into positive territory before closing down 128.00 points (1.49 per cent) at 8,451.19.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq managed a slim gain of 0.27 per cent and the Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 1.18 per cent.
The market saw a stomach-turning session at the end of a vicious week of selling that sent the Dow and S&P indexes tumbling 18 per cent.
"Pessimism is rampant," said Gregory Drahuschak at Janney Montgomery Scott.
"Forced selling has been a significant part of the market's drop in the last few days."
In an eight-minute speech in the White House Rose Garden, US President George W Bush sought to break a cycle of "uncertainty and fear" he blamed for aggravating the global financial meltdown, insisting US authorities can and will end the crisis.
But he offered no new remedies for the economic bloodbath, warning a fearful US public and jittery markets that "anxiety can feed anxiety," which can obscure efforts that have been made to end the crisis.