BBC NEWS | Business | Fears of fresh stock market falls

BBC NEWS | Business | Fears of fresh stock market falls

It is feared that Asian and European shares could fall further on Monday after New York's Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 208 points on Friday.

The Dow had its biggest weekly fall since March 2003 after banks involved in big buyouts failed to find buyers for $20bn (£9.8bn) worth of debt.

That made investors wonder whether the current acquisition-fuelled rally could be coming to an end.

There have also been more indications of problems in the US housing market.

Last Tuesday, the biggest US mortgage lender Countrywide Financial, reported a fall in quarterly results.

On Monday, HSBC will report its results, which are also expected to have been hit by the rising level of defaults in the sub-prime mortgage market.