Stock market fixing:

Nikkei 225 -131.93 (-1%) 12,557.66
Topix - 18.90, or 1.6 percent, to 1,201.65
DAX 30 -187.92 (-2.9%) 6279.57
САС 40 -143.12 (-3.2%) 4304.01
FTSE 100 -137.60 (-2.5%) 5362.10
Dow -344.65 (-2.99%) 11188.23
Nasdaq -74.69 (-3.2%) 2259.04
S&P -37.89 (-2.97%) 1237.09
10YR +20/32 3.62% 103 3/32

Japan's stocks fell to a five-month low.

Nippon Electric Glass Co. tumbled 14% to a three-year low. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. plummeted 7.3%, leading shipping lines to the lowest in seven months. Yokohama Rubber Co., Japan's second-biggest tiremaker, jumped 3.8% after saying it will raise prices by as much as a 10th.

Nippon Electric Glass dived 14% to the lowest since August 2005, making the company the second-worst performer on the MSCI World Index. Asahi Glass Co., Asia's largest glassmaker, lost 3.4%.

Mitsui O.S.K. plunged 7.3%, the worst slump since Feb. 6. Smaller rival Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. retreated 5.9%, while Nippon Yusen K.K., Japan's biggest marine transport company, fell 5%.

European stocks tumbled the most in seven weeks after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said policy makers remain focused on inflation even as the economy slows.

Barclays Plc slumped 6% and Banco Santander SA sank 4% as the ECB said it will tighten its lending rules to stop them being exploited by financial institutions stung by the yearlong credit crisis. Siemens AG, Europe's biggest engineering company, retreated 4.8% as German factory orders unexpectedly fell and Dresdner Kleinwort downgraded the shares. Saab AB slid 20% after the Swedish maker of the Gripen fighter plane reduced its profit forecast.

The ECB kept its benchmark interest rate at a seven-year high of 4.25%, while the BOE held borrowing costs at 5%, as inflation concerns made it harder for policy makers to respond to the risk of recession.

Stocks tumbled Thursday, with the Dow sinking over 300 points, as sluggish retail sales and some dour readings on the labor market exacerbated worries about a global economic slowdown.

The concerns overshadowed a better-than-expected sales report from Wal-Mart Stores and surprisingly strong readings on services sector.

The world's leading retailer Wal-Mart reported stronger-than-expected August sales at its stores open a year or more, a metric known as same-store sales. Sales rose 3% versus forecasts for a rise of 1.6% and included the critical back-to-school period.

While Wal-Mart and select other discount retailers benefited from the need for a strapped consumer to still buy essentials, mall-based clothing chains and high-end sellers suffered.

Clothing chain Abercrombie & Fitch said sales fell 11%, versus forecasts for a 7.9% drop.

Before the open report from payroll services firm ADP showed that the private sector lost 33,000 jobs in August, eclipsing forecasts for a drop of 30,000.

The report can sometimes be a harbinger of the broader government-issued monthly employment report, due Friday. Employers are expected to have cut 75,000 non farm jobs from their payrolls, after cutting 51,000 in July.

The euro fell the most in almost four weeks against the dollar after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said the region is undergoing an ``episode of weak activity,'' signaling policy makers aren't inclined to lift interest rates soon.

The European single currency dropped for a sixth day as Trichet said downside risks to growth prevail. The ECB kept its main rate at a seven-year high of 4.25%.

The Bank of England kept its target rate at 5%.

The euro has dropped 6.4% versus the dollar since Aug. 7, when Trichet said growth in the countries using the euro will be ``particularly weak'' through the third quarter.

The ECB today lowered its 2008 economic growth forecast to about 1.4% from 1.8%, and its 2009 prediction to 1.2% from 1.5%.

EUR/USD printed high at $1.4540 before falling down to $1.4211, triggering stops and bids.

GBP/USD fell from $1.7860 to $1.7530.

USD/JPY declined from Y108.50/60 to Y105.60 before rebounded to Y107.30.

Gains in the dollar may be limited by speculation a deteriorating labor market will restrain consumer spending.

Companies in the U.S. cut an estimated 33,000 jobs in August, a private report based on payroll data showed today. The decrease followed a revised gain of 1,000 for the prior month that was lower than previously estimated, ADP Employer Services said.