Closing stock market indices

Major stock markets outside the United States ended on Wednesday.
EUROPE STOCK EXCHANGE: European shares sank 6.4 percent, snapping a sharp two-day rally, on mounting fears that bold government moves to tackle the credit crisis would not prevent the global economy from tipping into recession. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed 6.46 percent lower at 903.67 points.
The index, which is down 40 percent year-to-date, had gained 10 percent on Monday and 3.1 percent on Tuesday. Investors dumped mining shares, with the DJ Stoxx basic resources index plummeting 16 percent, tracking a sharp selloff in commodity prices on recession concerns.
FRANKFURT STOCK EXCHANGE: The DAX index ended at 4861.63 points, down 337.56 or 6.49 percent.
PARIS STOCK EXCHANGE: The CAC-40 index closed at 3381.07 points, down 247.45 or 6.82 percent.
ZURICH STOCK EXCHANGE: The Swiss market index closed at 5911.17 points, down 349.05 or 5.58 percent.
MILAN STOCK EXCHANGE: The All Share Mibtel index closed at 16840 points, down 877 or 4.95 percent.
MELBOURNE STOCK EXCHANGE: Australian shares fell 0.8 percent, trimming two days of strong gains, as mining stocks such as Rio Tinto took a hit on expectations a sharp global slowdown would curb metals demand. The S&P/ASX 200 index shed 35.2 points to finish at 4,300.0, paring the 9.5 percent gain made over the past two days.
JOHANNESBURG STOCK EXCHANGE: South Africa's rand weakened as much as four percent on the dollar and stocks fell to their lowest closing level in more than two years as risk aversion took a turn for the worse on renewed fears of a US recession. The All-share index fell 6.99 percent to 20,571.87 points. The All Gold index closed at 1842.73 points, down 26.74 or 1.43 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 15906.25 points, down 792.8 or 4.75 percent.