Global stocks plunge ahead of crucial euro summit
The European Central Bank poured cold water on speculation it may ramp up purchases of government bonds.
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Stocks plunged around the world after the European Central Bank poured cold water on speculation it may ramp up purchases of government bonds.
The comments came just ahead of a crucial summit of all EU leaders to decide the future of the euro.
The 27 member states must overcome huge differences before deciding whether to embrace fundamental reforms – proposed by Germany and France – to usher in deeper fiscal integration.
On Wall Street, financial stocks posted the steepest losses in the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Index. JP Morgan Chase lost 4.5% and Bank of America shed 4.4% while Morgan Stanley and Citigroup were two of the S&P 500's biggest decliners. Each slid more than 7%.
European events again overshadowed strong US employment data, with the number of workers filing new applications for unemployment benefits falling to the lowest level in nine months..
At the close (10am NZ time), the Dow was down 198.67 points, or 1.6%, to 11,997.10 and into negative territory for December, even though it has gained for six of the last eight sessions.
The S&P 500 index shed 2.1% to 1234.35 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.0% to 2596.38.
European markets also declined. The Stoxx Europe 600 finished with a 1.5% loss.
Germany's DAX index declined 2%, to 5874.44, France's CAC-40 index sank 2.5%, to 3095.49 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped 1.1%, to 5483.77.
Asian bourses fell, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.7% to 8664.58.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.3% to 4280.70 and Korea's Kospi Composite shed 0.4% to 1912.39.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.7% to 19,107.81, while China's Shanghai Composite edged down 0.1% to 2329.82 and India's Sensex dropped 2.3% to 16488.24.
In commodities, crude oil futures fell to their lowest in three weeks. The January delivery settled 2.1%, or $US2.15 a barrel, lower at $US98.34 a barrel in New York.
Brent crude for January settled $US1.42 a barrel, or 1.3%, lower at $US108.11.
Gold futures settled down 1.8% at $US1709.80 an ounce.
The US dollar gained versus the euro and the Japanese yen.
Nevil Gibson
Fri, 09 Dec 2011
Fri, 09 Dec 2011
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Global stocks plunge ahead of crucial euro summit
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