23rd September 2011
At the close of trading last night (September 22nd) the Dow Jones Industrial Average had suffered losses of 3.51 per cent, with a number of other key markets also seeing significant downturns.
Weak data from the US saw the country's Initial Jobless Claims fall less than expected and this, coupled with continuing uncertainty over the US economy, led to severe falls.
Analysts had predicted Initial Jobless Claims to fall to 420,000 per week, but the latest figures actually revised this figure up to 428,000.
Markets reacted badly to the news, with the S&P 500 index down 3.19 per cent and the Nasdaq down by 3.26 per cent by the closing bell.
Elsewhere, the FTSE 100 yesterday saw a similar downturn on the back of difficulties in Asian markets and the downgrading of a number of European banks.
The IMF's top financial stability official Jose Vinals commented: "Sovereign [debt] risks have spilled over to the region's banking system."
Posted by Andrew Johnston
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