Recession fears cause Asian stock markets plunge

Asian stock markets plunged today as fears grew over the deepening world financial crisis. Japan’s Nikkei stock index was one of the worst hit, plummeting 9.4% to close at a five-year low. The benchmark index nose-dived 952.58 points to 9,203.32, the lowest finish since June 2003. The index has lost 24% in the last two weeks. The dollar also briefly fell below 100 yen. The massive sell-off in Tokyo followed a plunge on Wall Street yesterday, when the Dow Jones industrial average lost more than 5% despite steps by the Federal Reserve to reinvigorate dormant credit markets. Australia’s stock market plummeted nearly 5% today amid anxiety about the spreading global financial crisis. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX200 closed down 230.6 points, or 4.99%, to 4,388.1. The drop wiped out a 1.72% gain yesterday after the... [read full story]