By AFP
SINGAPORE shares dived on Friday, following carnage in the US and European markets amid fears the world was heading towards another financial crisis. Stock markets all over the world suffered huge sell-offs amid fears of a global recession.
The benchmark Straits Times Index dropped below 3,000 points to 2,994.78, down 3.75 per cent, or 112.23 points.
The STI last lost more than 100 points in October 2008 as the markets digested the Lehman collapse.
Other Asian stock markets also plummeted on Friday.
Already-fragile investor confidence was hammered by more weak US economic data and a warning from the head of the European Commission that the euro zone debt crisis had likely spread to other economies.
'It's going to be a very ugly end to an even uglier week,' IG Markets analyst Ben Potter said in Sydney, adding that all sectors were expected to take a battering.
Tokyo dived 3.63 in the afternoon, Hong Kong plummeted 4.75 per cent by lunch, Sydney slumped 4.05 per cent, Seoul tumbled 3.30 per cent and Taipei shed 4.80 per cent. Shanghai slipped 1.88 per cent and Mumbai was 2.67 per cent off.
Fear swept across Asia from Europe and the United States, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its worst one-day drop since December 2008 to close 4.3 per cent lower at 11,383.68, erasing all this year's gains. The broader S&P 500 dropped 4.8 per cent to end the day at 1,200.07, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dived 5.1 per cent to 2,556.39.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index fell 3.43 per cent, retreating to levels last seen in September 2010, while in Frankfurt the DAX fell 3.40 per cent, and France's CAC 40 dropped 3.90 per cent.
TOKYO
Tokyo shares tumbled 3.72 per cent on Friday, following a huge sell-off on US and European markets amid worries over the US economy and European debt crisis.
The Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed 359.30 points lower at 9,299.88 - a recovery after it dived on opening to its lowest level since the days after the March 11 quake-tsunami disaster.
The broader Topix index of all first section shares lost 3.07 per cent or 25.40 points to 800.96.
The sharp falls, in line with huge losses across Asia, came after global investors dumped shares in Europe and on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 4.3 per cent, its worst one-day drop since December 2008.
The chances of dip-buying were slim due to caution ahead of US jobs data due out later on Friday, said Mr Takuya Yamada, senior portfolio manager at ITC Investment Partners.
'The market is pinning its hopes on tonight's US jobs data and the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meeting next week' for signs of another round of quantitative easing, he told Dow Jones Newswires.
HONG KONG
Hong Kong stocks slumped 4.29 per cent on Friday as world markets suffered a huge sell-off amid concerns that the global economy is on the verge of another recession.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 938.60 points to 20,946.14 on turnover of HK$124.77 billion (S$19.5 billion).
Markets around the world have suffered some of their worst losses since the global financial crisis as the stuttering US economy and growing worries about euro zone sovereign debt sent investors running from riskier assets.
Sentiment was weakened by a poor jobs report from the United States and comments from European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso admitting debt contagion has now spread beyond the euro periphery.
SHANGHAI
Chinese shares closed down 2.15 per cent.
The Shanghai Composite Index shed 57.62 points to 2,626.42 on turnover of 87.8 billion yuan (S$16.6 billion).
KUALA LUMPUR
At 5.00pm on Friday, there were 60 gainers, 934 losers and 152 counters traded unchanged on the Bursa Malaysia.
The FBM-KLCI was at 1,524.43 down 22.43 points, the FBMACE was at 4,050.02 down 166.47 points, and the FBMEmas was at 10,478.30 down 201.85 points.
Turnover was at 1.780 billion shares valued at RM3.672 billion (S$1.49 billion)./BERNAMA
Ref:ST news
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