Investors Skittish Worldwide; Major Indexes In Japan, Europe Keep Going Down
War fears have sent stock markets around the world down to levels not seen in years, complicating efforts by major economies to reverse sluggish growth.</br></br>Japan's Nikkei index closed yesterday at 7862.43, its lowest since 1983. Major European indexes, such as Britain's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX, and France's CAC 40 index, have reached six- or seven- year lows. U.S. stock markets are trading near their 2002 lows.</br></br>Investors in global markets face fragile economies in every major stock market, and there is no region that can be counted upon to pull the rest of the world out of its slump, which at various times the United States, Europe and Asia have done.</br></br>The plunge in global stock markets has intensified the banking crisis in Japan, making any economic recovery there extremely difficult. In Germany, where growth also is slow, the stock market decline has particularly hit banks and insurance companies, which often hold a much higher proportion of there reserves in equities than similar U.S. institutions.</br></br>Analysts said investors in Asia and Europe have looked for the United States to lead a revival, but recent news -- including an unexpected plunge in U.S. payroll jobs, rising oil prices and concerns about war -- sent the Dow Jones industrial average and Nasdaq tumbling.