World markets were sent into a tailspin Monday as the shockwaves from the bailout of U.S. investment bank Bear Stearns continued to reverberate and stocks tumbled. In early trading in Europe, the FTSE 100 fell by 2.47 percent to 5493 and the French CAC 40 fell by 125.02 to 4467, losing 2.72 percent. Of the big three European markets the German Dax suffered most, dropping 227.03 or 3.52 percent to 6225.The drop came after steep falls in Asia, where Japan's Nikkei was down by 454.09 to 11788, losing 3.7 percent, while the Hang Seng dropped -1,152.5 to 21085, a fall of 5.18 per cent.
The global falls came despite attempts by the U.S to restore confidence to worldwide markets. It was announced Sunday that Bear Stearns, once one of the U.S.'s biggest financial institutions, had been bought by rival JP Morgan for an estimated $236 million -- or around $2 per share, compared to nearly $70 per share last week and a high last year of $159 per share.
JP Morgan and the U.S. Federal Reserve Friday bailed out Bear Stearns Friday after it finally succumbed to the credit crunch, suffering major cash flow problems.
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