Global markets in panic

March 18, 2008
Global markets in panic

OVERSEAS traders have dumped shares and the US dollar in the hours after Australian stocks lost $31 billion as global markets plunge into "a complete state of panic".

In the US, trading was highly volatile overnight, and while stocks rebounded from sharp losses at the open, few were forecasting an end to the turbulence, with confidence plummeting and widespread expectations of a US recession.