PETALING JAYA: Asia-Pacific and European markets fell for a fifth straight day despite a late move by the United States Federal Reserve and six other central banks to cut key interest rates yesterday to halt the rapid spread of the global financial meltdown.
Despite coordinated emergency rate cuts to calm financial markets and ease the impact of a slumping global economy, the Fed together with the European Central Bank, Bank of England, Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the central banks of Canada, Sweden and Switzerland failed to reassure jittery investors in the Asia-Pacific equity markets.