London - Banking stocks rallied on the London stock market Wednesday following the announcement by the government of a massive bail-out for the banking sector.

Shares in Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) jumped by 27 per cent in early trading, after a slump of more than 40 per cent Tuesday.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) saw its share price rise by 12 per cent after losses of 39 per cent during turbulent trading Tuesday.

Tokyo - Stock markets throughout Asia and the Pacific fell sharply Wednesday in response to Wall Street's plunge and mounting fears over a worldwide recession.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average nosedived to its lowest closing level since June 2003, with losses amounting to the third biggest one-day drop in post-war Japan.

The Nikkei plunged 952.58 points, or 9.38 per cent, to end at 9,203.32.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues fell 78.6 points, or 8.04 per cent, to 899.01.

Mumbai, Oct 8 : The benchmark Sensex on Wednesday tumbled below the 11,000-mark for the first time since August 2006. It lost little over 730 points in late morning trade following weak global markets on deepening financial crisis.

The BSE barometer was trading at 10,965.01 points at 1045 hrs, a loss of 730.23 points, or nearly 6 percent, over the previous close.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange''s (NSE) Nifty dipped by 213.90 points, or 5.5 percent, at 3,392.70 points in late morning trade.

London - The British government Wednesday announced a major rescue package for leading banks of 50 billion pounds (87 billion dollars) to stabilize the banking system, according to a statement to the London Stock Exchange.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling, detailing the plan in a written statement to the London stock market Wednesday, has said it was aimed at placing the banking industry on a long term "sound footing."

Jakarta - The Indonesia Stock Exchange halted trading on Wednesday after the benchmark composite index plunged 10.38 percent on fears about the global financial crisis.