World stock markets slide

Asian and European equities fell sharply again on Wednesday after overnight losses on Wall Street, where worries about the earnings season were underscored by a huge loss at US aluminium giant Alcoa.
In morning trading in Europe, the London market fell 0.84 percent, Frankfurt shed 1.47 percent and Paris lost 1.25 percent in value.
In Asia, Hong Kong slid more than 3.0 percent, Tokyo dipped 2.69 percent and Sydney finished down 2.34 percent, with financial and resources stocks hit the hardest. Markets throughout the region were showing losses.
This followed a dismal day of trading on Tuesday in the United States, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.3 percent.
The US corporate earnings season got off on a sour note as Alcoa posted a quarterly net loss of 497 million dollars, with prices and demand down dramatically in the face of the global slowdown.
"Alcoa's first-quarter 497-million-dollar loss is weighing heavily on sentiment," said VTB Capital analyst Ivan Ivanschenko on Wednesday.
"Importantly, it also sets the tone for the whole reporting season and... (the) chances are (that) we shall see further weakness as investors realise that hopes of an economic recovery contrast markedly with corporate earnings."
World stock markets had plunged on Tuesday into negative territory on gloomy growth forecasts in Asia and news that the eurozone economy sank deeper into recession last year than had been feared.
"Here we go again," said analyst Stuart Bennett at Calyon, the investment banking arm of French bank Credit Agricole.
"Another poor performance by stocks, disappointing figures from Alcoa and the prospect that Q1 earning season will produce similarly sluggish figures from other companies has prompted the market to question the sustainability of the recent rise in global bourses," he added.
On Wednesday, the Hong Kong market was worst off, with the Hang Seng index handing back 3.04 percent, more than 450 points, to 14,474.86.
Francis Lun, general manager of Fulbright Securities, a Hong Kong brokerage, said investors in Asia were "scrambling for an exit" after the tumble on Wall Street.