War fears, earnings worries and economic gloom hit many world stock markets again today, pushing investors into safe-haven bonds and supporting the dollar.
Shares in Japan tumbled to their lowest level since 1983, shaken by fears of failures among Japanese banks and undermined by sharp overnight losses on Wall Street.
European stock markets contained losses but still suffered uncertainty over a US-led attack on oil-producing Iraq and more fundamental worries about global finances.
The FTSE Eurotop 300 index of pan-European blue chips was down about a half a per cent, and the narrower DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index dropped 0.77 per cent.
On the foreign-exchange markets, the dollar was trapped at recent levels against major currencies, unable to rise because of concern about war but supported by sliding Japanese and European stocks.
"We are coming into the earnings season and that is still putting pressure on the dollar, but appetite for European equities has waned," said Mr Kamal Sharma, currency strategist at Commerzbank.
The dollar was nearly unchanged from the US close at 122.80 yen but was weakened by a quarter per cent to about $0.9874 per euro.