World stock markets ended one of their most brutal quarters in years on Friday, with bourses in New York and Europe posting sell-offs to match the 2008 crisis. Another rocky week is expected.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed the quarter down 12% from the start of July, as fears of another global slowdown dogged markets.
On Friday, the Dow Jones Index closed down 240 points, or 2.1%, at 10,913.
The Nasdaq Composite closed down 65 points, or 2.6%, at 2415.
The sell-off was even more pronounced in Europe, where debt worries have called the future of the eurozone into question.
In the last three months, the DAX in Frankfurt's and the CAC-40 in Paris have each lost 25%. The FTSE in London lost almost 14%.
Across the Tasman, the Australian 200 Index closed flat on Friday, at 4008 points. The NZX 50 closed on Friday up 43 points, or 1.3%, at 3343.
At 8.30am on Monday, the New Zealand dollar had fallen slightly against the greenback and was buying 76.10 US cents, 78.80 Australian cents, 48.95 pence, 58.73 yen and 0.5708 euro. The Trade Weighted Index was at 68.15.
Brent crude oil was trading at $US107.71 per barrel and gold was trading at $US1622.95 per ounce.
