Markets Remain Unsettled

US stock markets remained on edge throughout trade today amid speculation that the Federal Reserve is contemplating a decrease in interest rates, while European markets managed to gain some growth.

After news of an increased growth in the US economy, European markets gained some confidence as share prices grew, despite the lack of impact the news had on markets stateside.

The sub-prime saga in the US has been the main driving force behind a comprehensive lack of confidence in the major exchanges, with continuing uncertainty preventing any long term investment decisions and adversely affecting private investment funds.

In London, the FTSE 100 traded up by 79.8 points on the day to claim much of the losses suffered earlier in the week. By the closing bell the index had come to rest at 6212.0.

In Frankfurt, the German DAX 30 exchange was up by 80.76 points off the back of news of a drop in the numbers of unemployed was taken to suggest further progress in the economic recovery - despite the fact that figures were well below expert forecasts. At the close of trade, that DAX had grown to 7519.9.

Likewise in Paris, the CAC 40 saw an increase on trading yesterday to write off earlier losses, growing by 72.51 points to 5592.5 at the close after some positive trading through the course of the afternoon.

The leading Dow Jones market in the US was down overall, with growing speculation that the Federal Reserve is poised to slash interest rates to help out with the sub-prime lending market.

Despite news of the economy growing well beyond analyst predictions at 4% on the year through the second quarter, the Dow Jones fell by 50.56 points to 13238.7.

The New-York NASDAQ tech exchange grew marginally to 2565.3, up just over 2 points on the start of trade this morning.

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