Sydney  - Fea

Manila  - Philippine share prices plunged 3.42 per cent on Tuesday on news of massive job cuts and more economies falling into recession due to the global slump.

The 30-share composite index of the Philippine Stock Exchange lost 66.40 points to close at 1,873.60, from Monday's finish of 1,940.00.

A total of 751.83 million shares worth 1.20 billion pesos (24.48 million dollars) were traded.

Losers led gainers 85 to 8, while 26 issues were unchanged.

Traders said investor sentiments were dampened by reports that Citigroup, the second largest US bank, cut 52,000 jobs in a bid to save itself.

Tokyo - Stocks opened lower Tuesday in Tokyo as overnight losses on Wall Street spurred concerns over the world recession.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 82.17 points, or 0.96 per cent, to 8,440.41.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also down 2.23 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 848.26.

On currency markets at 9 am (0000 GMT), the dollar was quoted at 96.42-47 yen, down from Monday's 5 pm quote of 97.10-12 yen.

Washington  - US stocks dropped Monday after US banking giant Citigroup announced a massive job cut, extending a steady decline over the last two weeks amid concerns of a deepening recession.

Citigroup said Monday that it was eliminating about 53,000 jobs from its international workforce and cutting costs by 20 per cent after suffering huge losses in the global financial crisis.

Beijing - Shares on China's two stock markets jumped by about 2 per cent on Monday, continuing an upward trend from last week.

The key Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks shares traded in foreign and local currencies, rose by 44.05 points, or 2.22 per cent, to end the day at 2,030.49 points.

The smaller Shenzhen Composite Index also gained nearly 2 per cent as the markets were buoyed by rising airline stocks after reports that the government planned to invest 3 billion yuan (440 million dollars in China Eastern and China Southern airlines.