Global stock selloff

Markets fall on fears about world crisis - expectations mount for response.

EMAIL  |   PRINT  |   SHARE  |   RSS
 
google my aol my msn my yahoo! netvibes
Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader
See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close)
CNNMoney.com staff

Photos
The crisis: A timeline The crisis: A timeline The crisis: A timeline
A shocking series of events that forever changed the financial markets.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Global fears about the financial crisis deepened on Friday as stock markets the world over fell sharply and government officials scrambled to contain the damage.

Expectations for a coordinated response grew while the world's finance ministers and central bankers prepared to meet this weekend in Washington. President Bush is expected to make a statement about the financial crisis shortly after 10 a.m.

In the United States, stock futures were trading sharply lower - a sign that investors are bracing for a rough time at the opening bell.

European markets got off to a terrible start. Within the first 10 minutes of trading, London's FTSE, the CAC in Paris and the XETRA DAX in Frankfurt, Germany, had all sloughed off about 10% of their values.

European markets recovered some, but all were down generally 6% to 10% by late morning.

Russia's volatile stock markets were closed on Friday. Government financial officials suspended them before trading was scheduled to open, according to the Russian Trading System. The markets will remain closed until further notice.

One economist said the markets are nearing their bottom. "We are getting mighty close," according to Tom Hougaard with City Index in London. "I have no doubt that with in the next 48 to 72 hours, we will find a low."

Asian markets ended lower. The Nikkei Exchange in Japan closed down 9.6%.

Meanwhile, the Australian All Ordinaries index closed more than 8% lower and South Korea's KOSPI index finished the day off 4.3%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down about 8% in afternoon trading and Mumbai's BSE SENSEX was down 7.4%.

The losses brought more attempts by government officials to reverse the tide.

The Bank of Japan injected $45 billion into financial markets - the largest single-day amount in history - and India's central bank made $8.2 billion available.

Three European central banks offered $120 billion in overnight cash to markets, in an effort to keep a strained financial system flush with cash, the Associated Press reported. The European Central Bank offered $100 billion, the Bank of England $10 billion and the Swiss National Bank $10 billion.

A day earlier, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority cut its key interest rate by half a percent - its second such recent move.

On Wednesday, the British government said it would make available $87 billion to the nation's eight largest banks in an effort to shore-up their capital positions. In return for the infusion of capital the British government will receive preferred shares of those banks.

Iceland seized control of its three largest banks. Officials with the Italian government have said they are looking at their own bank rescue plan similar to the British efforts.

In the United States, where the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department have already taken numerous steps in recent days, speculation grew that the government might take even more dramatic action like making direct capital investments in banks.

The selloff followed another brutal day on Wall Street on Thursday. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 679 points - or 7.3%. The Dow, Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq all closed at five-year lows.

Over the last seven sessions, the Dow has lost 2,271 points, or 20.1%. Since hitting an all-time high of 14,164.53 one year ago Thursday, the Dow has lost 39.4%.

The CNN Wire reports were used in compiling this article. To top of page

Features
They're hiring!These Fortune 100 employers have at least 350 openings each. What are they looking for in a new hire? More
If the Fortune 500 were a country...It would be the world's second-biggest economy. See how big companies' sales stack up against GDP over the past decade. More
Sponsored By:
More Galleries
10 of the most luxurious airline amenity kits When it comes to in-flight pampering, the amenity kits offered by these 10 airlines are the ultimate in luxury More
7 startups that want to improve your mental health From a text therapy platform to apps that push you reminders to breathe, these self-care startups offer help on a daily basis or in times of need. More
5 radical technologies that will change how you get to work From Uber's flying cars to the Hyperloop, these are some of the neatest transportation concepts in the works today. More

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.