http://www.abc.net.au/news/2000/04/item20000415174734_1.htm

Sun., April 16, 2000

All Ords predicted to take a fall after US losses

Local economists are predicting a big slump on the Australian stock market next week, as investors react to heavy losses last Friday on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones had a record points fall, plunging 618 points or 5.7 per cent.

The high-tech Nasdaq Index faired even worse, losing almost 10 per cent in value.

Analysts say the latest plunge is more than a just a correction of overvalued technology stocks, with the Nasdaq now officially a bear market.

The Commonwealth Bank's Chief Economist, Bruce Freeland, predicts Australia's All Ordinaries Index could fall by about 3 per cent tomorrow, with blue chip, media and technology stocks all affected.

"This fall though on Friday night in the US, which was quite wide-spread and driven by inflation fear and interest rate fears, really does seem to have affected stocks right across vthe whole spectrum of the US economy," he said.

"That's why I think the Australian All-Ords may be more adversely affected this time around."

Taiwan

Taiwan's stock market plunged as Asian markets braced for the expected backlash after the record falls on Wall Street.

Most bourses across the region were closed yesterday, but an early indication that Asia could be in for a rough ride came in Taiwan, where the market plunged 5.4 percent.

Wall Street strategist Barry Hyman:

"I would consider the whole week a crash in the Nasdaq market, the market does not have a good feel at all," he said.

"And we go into the weekend wondering what is the Federal Reserve Board thinking, what are the major brokerage firms thinking, what is President Clinton thinking and a lot of what we hear over the weekend going to determine how we look early next week."

-- viewer (justp@ssing.by), April 15, 2000

Answers

More on Taiwan:

Sat Apr 15, 1:42 pm

$1 trillion lost in one day

Fears that North American stock markets will continue to slide when trading resumes on Monday were given a boost by market activity in Taiwan on Saturday.

One of the few stock markets to trade since Friday's savage declines on Wall Street and Bay Street is the Taiwan market. And it took a severe beating as nervous investors joined in a frenzied sell-off, prompting fears that the fury that gripped the North American markets on Friday will continue on Monday.

The TAIEX index lost 507.81 points, or 5.42 per cent. Technology stocks took the worst pounding.

-- viewer (justp@ssing.by), April 15, 2000.