Financial Gamblers Torn Between DOW Close on Thursday

Slightly more than half of those betting at the online financial prediction market, intrade.com say the DOW will close lower than it did on Wednesday. Around 45 percent say "higher".

Japan's Nikkei index closed more than 11% down, while shares in Hong Kong shed 4.8%. Australian, South Korean and Indian indexes all fell.

The prospect of a protracted economic downturn also sent crude oil prices lower to hit a 15-month low at $68.60 a barrel.

In European trading, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index, a barometer of euro zone blue chips, dropped 2.9 percent. By midday, the FTSE 100 index in London was down 2.8 percent. The CAC-40 in Paris lost 3.2 percent, while the DAX in Frankfurt fell 1.9 percent.

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Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com