World markets in turmoil despite global interest rate cuts

Global stock markets suffered another vicious sell-off on Wednesday in extremely volatile trade, as investors brushed off a coordinated round of interest rate cuts across the globe.

After a calamitous day in Asia, Wall Street plunged at the open before rebounding slightly amid caution over the international bid to unblock frozen credit markets.

Frankfurt, London and Paris all tumbled by more than 4.0 percent as initial optimism over the rate cuts evaporated.

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Major central banks launched an exceptional joint effort to battle the global financial crisis on Wednesday, simultaneously slashing interest rates on three continents in a move aimed at rescuing the flagging global economy.

The US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of England and peers in Canada, Sweden and Switzerland slashed key rates by a half percentage point, sending their strongest signal of support since just after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the US.

“We are not out of the woods yet,” warned City Index market strategist Joshua Raymond. “We will have to see whether this has any long lasting effect on confidence.”

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