By PAN PYLAS, AP Business Writer – 42 mins ago
LONDON – World stock markets fell sharply Thursday as investors fretted over the debt problems at Dubai World, a government investment company, and the continued fall in the dollar.
Markets are usually relatively quiet when Wall Street is closed for a holiday, as it is Thursday for Thanksgiving Day — not so today.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 99.84 points, or 1.9 percent, at 5,264.97, although trading has been halted for over an hour because of technical problems. Germany's DAX fell 115.17 points, or 2 percent, to 5,687.85 while the CAC-40 inFrance was 84.92 points, or 2.2 percent, lower at 3,724.24.
Earlier in Asia, the Shanghai index tanked 119.19 points, or 3.6 percent, to close at 3,170.98, its biggest one-day fall since August 31, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 1.8 percent to 22,210.41.
Sentiment in stocks has been dented by the news that Dubai World, which is thought to have debts totaling around $60 billion, has asked creditors if it can postpone its forthcoming payments until May. That has stoked fears of a potential default and contagion around the global financial system, particularly in emerging markets.
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