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The Australian sharemarket plummeted on Tuesday on fears that a deteriorating US economy would drag the rest of the world down with it. The All Ordinaries declined 7.3% to close at 5222pts, the fourth largest percentage point fall ever recorded in the market. Consolidated Media (CMJ) was one of the few companies to record gains today. CMJ rose 9.6% to end the day at $4.23, on the back of news that Lachlan Murdoch and James Packer plan to privatise the group in a $3.3 billion deal. Packer and Murdoch are offering $4.06 cash plus 0.1116 Seek Limited (SEK) shares for each Consolidated Media share. SEK fell 17.6% to close at $5.89. Base metal prices slumped on the London Metal Exchange (LME) on Monday, reacting like other financial markets to US recession fears. Zinc lost 6.0% and copper declined 3.8%. BHP Billiton (BHP) fell 6.9% to finish the day at $31.00. Rival Rio Tinto (RIO) declined 11.6% to close at $101.00. US crude oil prices fell in electronic trade on Monday on concerns that oil demand will ease with softer global economic conditions. The February Nymex crude oil quote fell by US$1.91 a barrel in after-hours trade or 2.1% to US$88.66. London Brent crude fell by US$1.61 to US$87.62 a barrel. Woodside Petroleum (WPL) declined 10.0% to end the day at $40.97. Losses were experienced across the entire banking sector. ANZ Banking Group (ANZ) was the worst performer of the sector, down 7.1% to finish at $24.35. National Australia Bank (NAB) fell 6.5% to close at $32.90.Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC) was down 4.9% at $24.50. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) declined 3.8% to end at $48.85. Harvey Norman (HVN) declined 8.8% to close at $5.36, despite reporting solid second quarter sales results. Second quarter sales were up 13.1% to $1.65 billion, and like-for-like sales up 7.9%. Pan Australian Res (PNA) was the biggest mover of the S&P/ASX 200, falling 25.0% to finish at $0.69. The Australian dollar traded at US$0.8595 (5.00pm AEST) – down from its overnight trading close of US$0.8761. |
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Interest rate hope steadies markets PA Published: 22 January 2008 Hopes of an emergency interest rate cut in the US helped steady investors' nerves today in a turbulent session for London's leading shares. The FTSE 100 Index plummeted a further 4% earlier today following yesterday's rout, although the market recouped most of the losses by midday. Stock markets across the world have been hit by growing fears over a US recession. But talk of a 0.5% rate cut from the US Federal Reserve to spur on the world's largest economy, and intervention from other central banks, gave the Footsie some support. Martin Slaney, head of spread betting at GFT Global Markets, said: "There are all sorts of rumours flying around, particularly surrounding the likelihood of the Fed cutting rates today, ahead of the scheduled meeting next week, or even of co-ordinated action between the US, UK and European central banks." Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman said the instability was a "global phenomenon originating in the US", adding that the UK was well-placed to weather the storm. But traders predict that Wall Street's Dow Jones Industrial Average could fall as much as 500 points in early trading this afternoon following the turmoil elsewhere. Mr Slaney added: "After being closed for the long holiday weekend, US indices are heading for carnage on the open." * Japan's Nikkei 225 index nose-dived 5.7 per cent - its biggest percentage drop in nearly 10 years - to 12,573.05. In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed nearly 9 per cent lower - its worst performance in more than six years. * Australia's benchmark index sank 7.1 per cent, its steepest slide in nearly 20 years. Hong Kong's Hang Seng market was down 8.2 per cent in afternoon trading. * In China, the Shanghai Composite index lost 7.2 per cent to its lowest level since August. * The Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram urged investors to remain calm after trading in Mumbai was halted for an hour when the stock market there fell 10 per cent within minutes of opening. In volatile afternoon trading, the Sensex was down 6.2 per cent. |
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Originally Posted by forwardone
The US sneezes and the rest of the financial world catches a cold.
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| NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks on Tuesday declined for a fifth straight session but largely recovered from an opening rout sparked by a global sell-off, with equities investors drawing some reassurance from the Federal Reserve's emergency interest-rate cut. Down more than 460 points early on, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 128.1 points, or 1.1%, to end at 11,971.2. The S&P 500 fell 14.69 points, or 1.1%, to 1,310.50, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 47.75 points, or 2%, at 2,292.27. |