Asian and European stock indexes declined today, and US futures dropped sharply as news of Citigroup's projected $11 billion writedown triggered fears that the subprime mortgage crisis will continue to roil markets. Japan’s Nikkei stock index closed 1.5% down, a 7-week low, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 5.01%, AP reports. UK, German, and French indexes were all off in midday trading.
The Journal reports S&P 500 futures down 11.7 points, Nasdaq 100 futures 15.5 points, and the Dow industrial futures 103 points. "The journey through the financial turmoil has gone back to resembling a tunnel of fear, with new scary monsters jumping out of the dark at every corner," Reuters quotes one analyst observing. (More Nikkei 225 Stock Average stories.)