Stock markets' depressive week Traders worry about next week after this week's scare story. A brutal week is over for the world's knackered stock market traders, many of whom will suffer a weekend with sleepless nights due to worries about next week. The high-tech stock exchange Nasdaq in New York closed below 1,900, after a week when dealers spent much of their time crying about a fall below 2,000. While the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial averages index closed below 9,900. Here traders had bemoaned the index falling below 10,000. It has been a week of almost uninterrupted losses. The Dow Jones index closed at its lowest level for a year, the Nasdaq index at its lowest for 28 months and the broader Standard & Poor's at a 27-month low. A slight lift for Europe's stock markets and for the Dow Jones index during Thursday being wiped out by bad news announcements from the giant technology firms Oracle and Compaq after US trading ended. Only Tokyo ended the day marginally higher on Friday, though shares were sharply down on the week here too. Investors were scurrying for cover, even though nobody seemed to know where to hide. Bleak prospects Investors remain wary after a series of big falls caused by worries about the US economic slowdown hitting company profits - and huge declines in the valuations of internet and telecom firms. In recent weeks, because so many telecoms companies have issued warnings about their profitability, it has become perceived as the norm. So much so that when Nokia said it would not issue a profit warning on Thursday, a party broke out and shares in both the mobile phone maker and other high-tech firms soared. But bad news quickly returned, as did the gloom hanging over the stock markets. The numbers The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 207 points at 9,823 points. The Nasdaq fell almost 50 points to 1,891. Markets close Dow Jones 9,823 Nasdaq 1,891 FTSE-100, London 5,562 Dax, Frankfurt 5,738 Cac 40, Paris 5,105 The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 23 points. In London, the FTSE-100 index lost all Thursday's gains then fell even further to close down 166 points at 5562. The German blue-chip Dax index also shed 151 points to close at 5,738. The Cac-40 index ended at its lowest level so far in 2001, losing 1.41% to close at 5,105. Tokyo weathers bad news Only Tokyo's stock market defied the stream of bad news, clinging onto early albeit small gains. Japanese stocks also managed to weather an admission from the government in a monthly report that the country's economy was stalling. The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average closed up 80 points, or 0.66%, at 12,232. On the rebound Shares in Japanese banks led Tokyo's recovery on Friday. They bounced back from steep falls as investors became more hopeful that the banks would be able to clean up their balance sheets. The announcement on Thursday of a merger of Sanwa Bank, Tokai Bank and Toyo Trust & Banking to form UFJ group was greeted positively. Sanwa shares soared almost 10%, while Tokai Bank and Toyo Trust both jumped over 8%. Hopes that the Bank of Japan would lower interest rates also boosted the banking sector. The Markets: 21:57 UK FTSE 100 5562.8 -166.4 Dow Jones 9823.41 -207.9 Nasdaq 1890.86 -49.8 FTSE delayed by 15 mins, Dow and Nasdaq by 20 mins The global shake-out News Dow under 10,000 London meltdown Nasdaq below 2,000 Analysis Market crash impact What now for investors Why markets are falling The high-tech slump Buffett: 'I told you so' Economic slowdown US recession? Japan on the brink Background Wall Street blues Remember day traders? Dow Jones milestones Nasdaq crash Techmark tumble Dot.com bomb Year 2000 gloom TALKING POINT Is the world heading for recession? See also: 12 Mar 01 | Business Amazon chief's net stock warning 13 Mar 01 | Asia-Pacific Political crisis fuels market slide 15 Mar 01 | Business What now for online brokers? 14 Mar 01 | Business Why are the stock markets falling? Top Business stories now: Stock markets' depressive week Opec threatens huge oil cut Oracle heads south Turkey calls on US for help No profit, no Money Planet Euro stays below $0.90 The next test for MG Rover California faces more power cuts
