World Stock Markets Return To Negative Territory

Stock markets across the world were today affected by further bad news from the US economy, shedding much of the value gained earlier in the week.

After what had been an otherwise positively trading week, stock markets across the world saw significant sell offs on the back of more bad news about the US economy which saw jobs actually decline by 4,000 last month in the face of a 11,000 growth forecast by analysts.

Stock markets stateside were first to be hit by the news, shedding much of their value in the wake of the announcement. European markets soon followed, with Asian markets expected to perform to a similar poor level by the time they open tomorrow.

The Dow Jones exchange in New York lost a staggering 249.97 points on the day, writing off much of the gains earlier in the week. The Dow came to close at 13113.4, setting the tone for the rest of the world’s trading.

The NASDAQ exchange lost 48.62 points to close at 2565.7, whilst the S&P500 was down by 25.00 to 1453.6.

In Europe, stock markets were quick to lose confidence as news from the US began to filter through. London’s main exchange, the FTSE 100 escaped relatively unscathed in comparison to mainland economies, despite still heavily falling on the day. At close, the FTSE 100 was down by 122.10 points, taking it to close at 6191.2.

The DAX exchange in Frankfurt was amongst the heaviest major exchanges to be hit today proportionally, losing 185.09 points over the day’s trade to close at 7436.6.

Meanwhile, the French CAC exchange also lost 146.52 points off the back of the news from the US and the rest of Europe, closing down at 5430.1.

After a week of some encouraging trading, markets have today been thrown back into uncertain territory. Analysts are predicting that next week could continue to reflect the uncertain climate surrounding the sub-prime, with trading likely to be affected.

Story link: World Stock Markets Return To Negative Territory