Major stock markets outside the United States ended on Thursday.
Leading indexes trimmed steep intraday losses, however, after credit rating agency Standard & Poor's said in a report released late in the European trading day that an end to writedowns was now in sight for big financial institutions.
Some strategists nevertheless warned that the negative impulses that have hammered stock markets for months could continue to haunt investors.
The All-share index closed at 30,306.92 points, down 403.6 or 1.31 percent. The All Gold index closed at 2,736.46 points, up 93.27 or 3.53 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 19,473.09 points, down 400.3 or 2.01 percent.