Global shares retreat on world growth fears

Global shares fell for a third day today as corporate warnings of slower growth underscored concerns about a sluggish world economy, while oil prices rebounded over worries about the security of Middle East crude supplies.

Weak risk sentiment hurt equity markets after warnings from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and US multinationals about the lackluster world economic outlook.

US stocks dipped as earnings season began with Alcoa forecasting slower demand for aluminum, while a profit warning from Chevron weighed on the energy sector.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 128.56 points, or 0.95 percent, to end at 13,344.97. The S&P 500 dropped 8.92 points, or 0.62 percent, to 1,432.56. The Nasdaq Composite lost 13.24 points, or 0.43 percent, to end at 3,051.78.

The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 1.18 points, or 0.04 percent, to 3,066.21.

In Europe shares also fell for the third day running today, pegged back by expectations of weak corporate results that may weigh on equity markets into next month.

Italy's one-year borrowing costs also edged up at an auction of short-term debt, and traders pointed to that as a sign that investors had turned firmly negative on the prospect of the euro zone's debt crisis easing swiftly.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 0.4 percent to 1,091.77 points, while the euro zone Euro STOXX 50 index fell 0.6 percent to 2,458.22 points.

Meanwhile in Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei average shed 2 percent to hit a two-month closing low on concerns that coming corporate earnings will be hurt by sluggish global growth, as the IMF cut its forecasts for the second time since April.

The Nikkei, which fell 1.1 percent yesterday, closed down 173.36 points at 8,596.23 on Wednesday. The index has fallen 7.5 percent since hitting a four-month high on September 19.

The broader Topix index dropped 1.5 percent to 716.84, with 1.6 billion shares changing hands, slightly down from yesterday's 1.62 billion but up from last week's average of 1.45 billion.