Asian markets tumble for a SECOND day after Dow goes into freefall sparking panic on Wall Street

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Daily Mail



• Asian markets plunge for another day, with key Nikkei down 4.4 per cent

• Nasdaq and S&P down seven per cent while Dow Jones falls 600 points

• Obama admits 'tough time' but says: 'U.S. will always be a triple-A country'

• Euro markets boosted by authorities' vow to buy Italian and Spanish bonds

• Michele Bachmann says Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner should resign

• Tension builds between White House and rating agency Standard and Poor's

• S&P warns it could downgrade U.S. rating further if no fiscal improvement

• Also lowers credit ratings of mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac





Asian equity markets were sharply down early today as investors fearing a possible global economic slowdown continued to flee stocks.



Japan's Nikkei 225 index plunged 4.4 percent to 8,694.31 in the morning session, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index plummeted 7.3 percent to 18,998.51. South Korea's Kospi index plummeted 8.2 percent to 1,716.05.



The news comes after panic swept Wall Street yesterday as U.S. stock markets plunged by up to seven per cent in the wake of the historic U.S. credit rating downgrade.



The pressure increased today, with Oil falling below $78 per barrel, toppling to its lowest price of the year on concerns that a slowing global economy could crimp demand for fuel.



Elsewhere, Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX-200 index lost 4.5 percent to 3,806.70. Taiwan's TAIEX dropped 4.9 percent and New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index shed 3.8 percent.



Echoing concerns across the markets, Shane Oliver, chief economist of Australian investment manager AMP Capital, said he was surprised that the Australian market had not stabilised after steep falls on the previous two trading days.



'I would have thought we would have factored in a lot of the weakness, but obviously the fall on Wall Street was greater than Australian investors and Asian investors expected this time yesterday,' Oliver said.



Yesterday, the Dow Jones fell more than 600 points in a six per cent drop in New York - while the Standard & Poor's (S&P) and the Nasdaq both plunged and ended down a huge seven per cent.



It was the S&P's worst day since December 2008, with every stock in the benchmark index ending in negative territory - and President Barack Obama's speech yesterday seemed to make things worse.



Despite expectations that the soothing words of a U.S. President would help calm jittery investors, Mr Obama couldn't help stem losses and said the nation 'will always be a triple-A country'.



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