Debt Crisis Spreads Beyond Greece

28 April 2010

From left: European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, the International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, following a meeting with German lawmakers in Berlin, 28 April 2010

U.S. stock market indexes were mixed in Wednesday's trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5 percent (53 points) to end at 11,045. The S&P 500 advanced nearly 0.7 percent (eight points) to finish at 1,191 but the NASDAQ was essentially unchanged to close at 2,471.

European stock markets were down at the close of trading as concerns grew about the debt crisis that affects Greece, Portugal and now Spain. London's Financial Times 100 index lost 0.3 percent (17 points) to end at 5,587. The CAC-40 in Paris fell 1.5 percent (58 points) to hit 3,787, and the DAX in Frankfurt was off 1.2 percent (75 points) to reach 6,084.

Earlier in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index plunged 2.6 percent (288 points) to finish at 10,925. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 1.5 percent (312 points) to finish the day's trading at 20,949.

European and global finance leaders are stepping up efforts to reach agreement on a bailout package for Greece. The debt crisis in Athens has caused worries about a Greek financial meltdown that could suck in other European nations and affect all that use the euro as their common currency.