Global stock markets tumbled again on Friday, while gold surged to a new record amid fears that the United States and Europe were facing a new downturn with little chance of stopping the freefall.

On

Hewlett-Packard shares plunged 20 per cent on Wall Street after the world's top personal computer maker announced a dramatic strategic shakeup that includes spinning off its PC business.

New worries that Europe and the United States are sinking into a recession roiled global stock markets on Thursday, while panicky investors pushed gold and US Treasury bonds to fresh records.

The wor

U.S. stocks dropped sharply on Thursday as data fuelled worries the economy was weakening and bank shares tumbled on fears the European financial crisis could spread havoc to other parts of the world.

U.S. stocks shot up 4 percent or more on Thursday as investors hungry for bargains overcame the recent wave of fear that has driven selling over the last two weeks.

Thursday's rally marked the second

Stocks rose more than 1 per cent on Tuesday after the previous session's nosedive, but markets could reverse if investors are not convinced the Federal Reserve has a plan to combat the meltdown linked

Wall Street stocks tumbled at the open on Monday after rating agency Standard & Poor's cut the top-tier AAA credit rating of the United States, rattling already-jittery investors.

The Dow Jones indus

Investors fled Wall Street in the worst stock-market selloff since the middle of the financial crisis in early 2009 in what has turned into a full-fledged correction.

The Dow and the S&P tumbled more

The BSE Sensex touched its lowest level since June 2010 on Friday, joining a slide in Asian stocks, as fresh worries that the global economy is slipping back towards recession prompted investors to cut positions in risky assets.

US stocks seesawed, trading little changed on Friday as a better-than-expected payrolls report did little to alleviate fears of a double-dip recession.

US job growth accelerated more than expected in