Stocks drop on economic concerns
Posted by meb at November 13th, 2008
The recent gloomy economic atmosphere continued to hover over financial markets in Turkey and around the world on Wednesday, sending stock and commodity prices even further down.
The İstanbul Stock Exchange benchmark index (İMKB-100) was down by 2.11 percent at the end of the day’s trading, closing at 25,342.50 points. Things were not bright in the currency market, either. The dollar increased to 1.64 against the lira from its previous level of 1.61 on Tuesday.
European shares dipped by midday in choppy trade, as weakness in the banking sector offset gains in defensive pharmacy and telecoms stocks amid continuing worries about a deep recession. Investors were taking their cue from Wall Street futures, which swung to negative from slightly positive after teetering back and forth earlier in the day. At 13:10 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.2 percent at 881.59 points after rising as high as 899.14 and dipping as low as 877.03. The index has fallen around 41 percent this year, hit by the credit crisis and the resulting economic slowdown. Germany’s DAX fell 1.33 percent, and France’s CAC-40 dropped 0.86 percent while London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.68 percent
US stocks extended losses on Wednesday after Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said his department would consider capital needs of non-bank financial institutions, renewing concerns about the scope of problems in the US economy. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 294.94 points, or 3.39 percent, at 8,399.02. The Standard and Poor’s 500 Index was down 30.39 points, or 3.38 percent, at 868.56. The NASDAQ Composite Index was down 44.55 points, or 2.82 percent, at 1,536.35. Japan’s Nikkei closed down 1.29 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.73 percent.
source: Today’s Zaman
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