A sign advertises a bank-repossessed home for sale in San Clemente, California, Sunday, August 5, 2007. The Federal Reserve, trying to calm turmoil on Wall Street, announced Friday, August 10, 2007, that it will pump as much money as needed into the U.S. financial system to help overcome the ill effects of a spreading credit crunch. - AP

LONDON (AP):

Global stock markets struggled yesterday as they battled persistent jitters over a credit crunch started by problems in the United States subprime loan sector and as broader concerns emerged about the U.S. economy.

Before the end of the day, the United Kingdom's FTSE-100 dipped 0.6 per cent to 6,109.30. France's CAC-40 declined 0.7 per cent to 5,444.12 while Germany's DAX managed to gain 0.3 per cent to 7,445.90. In Asia, Tokyo and New Zealand benchmarks tumbled to their lowest closes in nine months.

"Market volatility is going to continue until the extent of the problem is properly known," said Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown stock-brokers. "It may take a few weeks for positions to unwind and for banks to hold their hands up and reveal how much they are exposed to."

Stocks in the U.S. wobbled after the Dow Jones industrial average briefly dipped below 13,000 as Wall Street kept a close eye on the Federal Reserve and how much more cash it might inject into the banking system. The Dow industrials fell 0.06 per cent to 13,020.87, the S&P 500 Index was up 0.05 per cent at 1,427.29 and the Nasdaq composite index was down 0.10 per cent at 2,496.62.