Global stocks slide deepens

By Mike Dolan

LONDON (Reuters) - Stock markets around the world fell sharply again on Wednesday as concerns about economic recession and falling commodity prices were fuelled further by a fresh spate of gloomy corporate earnings.

Emerging markets were hardest hit by the global investor retreat and commodity pressure, with the U.S. dollar boosted by a repatriation of U.S. money and unwinding of dollar-financed trades, and major government bonds lifted by a flight to safety.

MSCI's main index of emerging equities .MSCIEF fell some 4.8 percent to its lowest level since June 2005, sharply underperforming the 3.1 percent loss in MSCI's index of world stock markets .MIWD00000PUS.

Asian markets kicked off the day's slide and the rout continued into emerging European markets, where currencies such as the Hungarian forint, Turkish lira and South African rand fell heavily and needed official support.

Six countries in the European region -- Hungary, Turkey, Ukraine, Iceland, Serbia and Belarus -- are now either in talks with the International Monetary Fund or have requested IMF help.

Developed markets were not immune. Pan-European stock indices .FTEU3 lost more than 4 percent and Britain's pound shed more than two percent on the dollar to 5-year lows.

S&P 500 futures were down more than three percent, indicating an similarly negative start later on Wall St.

"The name of the game at the moment is the economy. It seems as though potentially the worse of the global banking crisis has been averted. All eyes are very much now focused on the slowdown in the economic growth," said Richard Hunter, head of UK equities at Hargreaves Lansdown.