Most Asian stock markets fell for a second consecutive day on Friday after a series of interest rate cuts in the UK and across Europe failed to lift the gloom in global financial markets on Thursday. Elsewhere, rising risk aversion in the face of worsening economic conditions bolstered the yen and weighed on emerging market currencies, most notably the South Korean won.
Asian markets (Fri)
5:23am BST
Nikkei down 309.44 at 8,589.70
Topix down 34.29 at 875.01
Hang Seng up 185.79 at 13,975.83
US markets (Thurs)
DJIA down 443.48 at 8,695.79
Nasdaq down 72.94 at 1,608.70
S&P500 down 47.89 at 904.88
European markets (Thurs)
FTSE100 down 258.32 at 4,272.41
Eurofirst 300 down 55.11 at 898.13
Currencies
5:25am BST
€/$ 1.2721 (1.2862)
$/¥ 97.30 (97.68)
£/$ 1.5656 (1.5826)
Commodities
5:26am BST
Brent Crude (Dec08) up 0.42 at 57.85
Light Crude (Dec 08) up 0.59 at 61.36
100 Oz Gold (Dec08) up 2.30 at 734.50
3M 24HR Copper down 505.00 at 3850.00
10-year government bond yields (%)
US 3.68 (3.70)
UK 4.32 (4.42)
Germany 3.67 (3.76)
Japan 1.51 (1.49)
Sources: FT, Reuters