Stocks, euro slide on euro zone worries
US and European shares retreated and the euro slipped as investors cast doubt on efforts to tighten fiscal rules in the euro zone that aim to prevent the region's debt crisis from deepening.
US stocks skidded and European shares closed lower in thin trade as weak Chinese housing data fueled worries about demand and hurt mining stocks. The fading of optimism about a solution to the debt crisis also weighed on share prices.The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 103.50 points, or 0.87 percent, to 11,762.89. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 14.48 points, or 1.19 percent, to 1,205.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 31.38 points, or 1.23 percent, to 2,523.95.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of European shares fell 0.1 percent to close at 957.45 points. Global equities as measured by MSCI's all-country world index fell 1.0 percent.
Japan's Nikkei share average fell to a three-week low, hurt by news of Kim Jong-il´s death and as worries over Europe's debt crisis increased after Fitch Ratings warned of possible downgrades for seven European nations.
The benchmark Nikkei closed down 1.3% at 8,296.12, after earlier falling as low as 8,272. The broader Topix index lost 1% to 716.38.
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