Global shares fall after ECB comments
US stocks and European shares fell today after the president of the European Central Bank expressed caution over more bond purchases to ease the region's debt crisis.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 198.67 points, or 1.63 percent, to end unofficially at 11,997.70. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 26.66 points, or 2.11 percent, to finish unofficially at 1,234.35. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 52.83 points, or 1.99 percent, to close unofficially at 2,596.38.
European shares also fell in a choppy afternoon session today, erasing earlier strong gains, with traders saying the market came under pressure after Draghi cautioned on the region's economic outlook.Draghi said at a news conference after the ECB cut rates by a quarter of a point that intensified financial market tensions were continuing to dampen economic activity in the euro area and the outlook remained subject to high uncertainty and substantial downside risks.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European shares was down 0.4% at 985.00 points after trading in a wide range of 980.63-998.75 points and moving in and out of positive territory several times during the day.
The Nikkei average slipped from a four-week high today on profit-taking ahead of the settlement of a futures contract and as market players turned cautious ahead of key events in Europe.
The benchmark Nikkei dropped 0.7% to 8,664.58, slipping from a four-week high above 8,700 hit yesterday but above its 75-day moving average of 8,638, seen as key support.
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