Stock prices were down in many markets around the world today/Friday. The plunge followed Thursday's earnings report from computer giant IBM. The report showed earnings below what investors expected and sharpened their concerns that economic growth is faltering.
U.S. stock market indexes were down by half a percent or more. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 60 points in early trading to hit 10,219. The S & P 500 was off five points at 1157, while the NASDAQ was down 17 points at 1930.
European share prices are lower in midday trading. London's Financial Times index is down seven-tenths of a percent, while the CAC-40 in Paris, and the DAX index in Frankfurt are down by more than one-and-a-half percent.
Major Asian indexes also lost one percent or more. Tokyo's Nikkei index lost 192 points to close at 11,371. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed down 134 points at 13,639.
The price of gold is up nearly one dollar, trading at 424 dollars and 79 cents an ounce in New York.
The dollar in New York is down against the yen and the euro.