Stock Markets Continue to Plunge

It was a day of havoc in financial markets all around the world as investors see no hope in economic recovery. Investors especially in Asia region are expecting the financial crisis like the one happened in the US to happen in this region as well. Last Friday markets in the Asian region fell amid a rebound in the US.

Yesterday, Japan's Nikkei225 fell to a 26 year low after shedding about 500 points or 6.4% to close at 7,162.90. The recession fears also pushed the Yen higher, near 20. Japan's prime minister urged officials to prevent the crisis from going deeper and ease the market volatility. The Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index made its biggest daily decline since 1991. The index fell 1,600 points or 12.7% to close at 11,015.84 points, its lowest close for more than 4 years. Thailand's SET Index close to its lowest close of more than 5 years when it plunged 45 points or 10.5% to close at 387.43 points.

China's benchmark, the Shanghai Composite Index, lost 6.3 percent, or 116 points, to 1,723. Only South Korea managed to buck the down trend as it ended 0.8 percent higher at 946.45. The South Korean central bank reduced its key interest rate Monday by 0.75 percent, its biggest cut ever to prevent the economy falling into recession. Australia's All Ordinaries suffered lightly with a slight decline. The index fell about 60 points or 1.6% to close at 3,768.30. Markets in Malaysia and Singapore are closed for Hindu's Deepavali celebration.

In the west, European markets reaction were mixed. The British FTSE 100 fell 30.77 points, or 0.8 percent to close at 3852.59, while France's CAC 40 decline 4.0 percent to 3067.35.

Light Sweet Crude Oil for December delivery fell 93 cents to settle $63.22 a barrel in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil prices have plunged more than 57 percent from a record $147.27 in mid-July. Demand is expected to decline because of recession fears.

N.I.N.E.