Australian stocks lose another $A25b in biggest fall since 9/11 

Australian stocks lose another $A25b in biggest fall since 9/11

Just before the market closed. BHP Billiton announced that it is forming an alliance with Russia's biggest miner. MMC Norilsk Nickel. to carry out exploration and develop mining projects in the Russian Federation.
Banks also fell. with ANZ leading the pullback with a 65 cents or 2.5% fall to $A25.65. National Australia Bank was 85c poorer at $A33.95; the Commonwealth Bank offloaded 87c to $A42.22; while Westpac reversed 45c to $A22.00.
The market's initial decline was kicked off by a fall in the US overnight. where the the Dow Jones industrial average lost 99.34 points to 10.792.58. Asian markets all lost ground today.
The benchmark index lost 2.35% last Thursday; which until Tuesday. was the biggest fall since September 17. when the market lost 4.69% in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US.
The NZX50 index lost 12 points to close at 3.600 on total market turnover of $NZ99 million. Telecom accounted for almost a third of that activity; dropping 2 cents to $NZ4.37.
Japanese share prices dived by 4.14% on Tuesday. hitting a seven-month low. following further losses on Wall Street and the prospect of higher US interest rates.
Market sentiment was further dampened by a surprise admission by Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui's that he invested in the fund of Yoshiaki Murakami. who was arrested last week on charges of insider trading.
Overnight. US stocks dropped amid persistent worries about rising interest rates and slower economic growth after the latest warnings on inflation from US Federal Reserve officials.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 99.34 points to 10.792.58 on Monday; Standard & Poor's 500 index eased 15.90 points to 1236.40; and the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 43.74 points to 2091.32.
Investors around the world have dumped equities in recent weeks on concerns over rising inflation and the prospect of further increases in the cost of borrowing in the United States.
Stocks nose-dived last week after US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke delivered an unexpectedly strong inflation warning. which was taken as a sign that a further rate rise could be coming soon.
On Thursday. the European Central Bank raised interest rates and warned it would be prepared to move again. India. South Africa and South Korea also raised rates on Thursday. Turkey did so earlier in the week.
The ECB raised interest rates by 0.25% to a three-year high of 2.75%. and President Jean-Claude Trichet warned it would move again whenever necessary to curb inflation.





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