Stocks Sink On Global Slowdown Fears

U.S. stocks followed global stock markets lower today, but closed off the worst levels of the session. Fears of a major global slowdown drove the worldwide negative stock action. Following the decline in foreign markets, US futures trading was halted Friday morning after downside trading limits were reached. Fears of a massive sell-off didn't materialize and the markets worked off the lows. After all was said and done, the Dow fell 312 points, the Nasdaq lost 52 and the S&P 500 lost 31.

European stock markets were weaker across the board after data showed that UK's growth was down 0.5% in the third quarter. Germany's DAX fell 5%, the French CAC40 sank 3.5% and UK's FTSE 100 slipped 5%.

Asian markets were also hit hard, with Japan's Nikkei 225 falling nearly 10% and South Korea's Kospi also falling 10%. Japan's major automotive company Toyota (NYSE: TM) reported a decline in quarterly sales for the first time in seven years.

Crude continued to plunge today, dropping another 5% to the $64 range even after OPEC cut oil production by 1.5 million barrels per day.

The U.S. dollar was stronger against the Euro, but weaker against the Yen.

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