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World market indices fell

05 September 2008 09:55 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Vugar Mustafayev - APA-Economics. Wall Street was awash in losses on Thursday as weak retail results and data suggesting mounting job losses heightened fears about the US economic outlook.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average skidded 344.65 points, or 2.99 per cent, to end at 11,188.23, its weakest close since late July as the blue-chip index moved into "bear market" territory -- down 20 per cent from last yearâ€™s highs.
The Nasdaq composite slid 74.69 points, or 3.2 per cent, to 2,259.04 and the broad-market Standard & Poorâ€™s 500 index shed 38.15 points, or 2.99 percent, to 1,236.83.
Data showing higher jobless claims in the past week and more losses in private-sector employment weighed on sentiment, as did a mixed batch of monthly sales reports from the retail sector.
Retail leader Wal-Mart delivered better-than-expected August sales but most other stores showed weakness.
European stock markets closed sharply lower on Thursday for the second day in a row, stricken by gloomy economic forecasts from the European Central Bank and weighed down by a slump on Wall Street.
Londonâ€™s FTSE 100 blue chip index closed down 137.6 points, or 2.50 per cent, at 5,362.10, having risen slightly in the morning.
The DAX fell 187.92 points, or 2.91 per cent, to 6,279.57. The CAC 40 shed 143.12 points, or 3.22 per cent, to 4,304.01. Japanese share prices closed down 1.04 per cent on Thursday amid caution ahead of the release of US jobs data, with losses in commodity shares and shipping companies dragging down the index.
The Tokyo Stock Exchangeâ€™s benchmark Nikkei-225 index lost 131.93 points to close at 12,557.66.