World stock markets shot down

Oil and other commodities tumbled, too, in the face of several signs that economies are shifting into reverse: the Fed’s assessment of the US economy is gloomier than a month ago, while figures from Europe hinted that a recession is looming and a Chinese manufacturing survey suggested a sharp slowdown.

These concerns heap more misery on markets already skittish about Europe’s debt crisis. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng led the retreat, diving around five per cent.

The losses began on Wednesday afternoon in the US after the Fed announced a highly anticipated programme to trade in $400 billion worth of short-term bonds for the same amount of longer-term bonds. The goal is to ensure low borrowing rates for a long period, thereby helping to stimulate the housing market and other economic activity.

The programme — known as Operation Twist — was bigger than expected, but that seemed to work against the Fed: Investors took it as a signal that the central bank was growing more concerned about the economy. In its statement, the Fed noted “significant downside risks to the economic outlook, including strains in global financial markets.”

“Confidence was already shaky, at best, and the Fed’s words only heightened worries about the outlook,” said Benjamin Reitzes, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets.

In late-afternoon trading in Europe, France’s CAC-40 was down a hefty 4.4 per cent at 5,186 while Germany’s DAX slid 4.6 per cent to 5,186. The FTSE index of Britain’s leading shares was down 4.5 per cent at 5,051.

Wall Street also opened substantially lower. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 2.8 per cent lower at 10,816 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 2.7 per cent to 1,136.

The euro was also under severe pressure, trading 0.9 per cent lower at $1.3457 as the dollar garnered support through its widely-percieved status as a a safe haven in times of financial turbulence.

Earlier in Asia, stocks also fell. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 2.1 per cent to close at 8,560.26. South Korea’s Kospi slid 2.9 per cent to 1,800.55. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was 2.6 per cent down at 3,964.90.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng saw the biggest fall, diving over 900 points, or 4.9 per cent, to close at 17,911.90.

In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index closed down 2.8 per cent at 2,443.06. —