World stock markets posted gains on Friday as investors moved to buy equities at depressed prices following several days of heavy selling. European bourses tracked a positive session in Asia, recovering a portion of the steep losses suffered on Thursday, when major indexes fell more than 2.5 percent.
The selling pressure began Monday after US Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke issued a stronger-than-expected inflation warning, raising fears that the Fed would continue lifting interest rates. Analysts noted that emerging markets, including India and Türkiye, bore some of the heaviest losses during the volatile stretch.
By Friday's close, London's FTSE 100 had risen 1.66 percent to 5,655.2, Frankfurt's DAX gained 1.50 percent to 5,464.08, and Paris's CAC 40 climbed 1.79 percent to 4,768.18. In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei-225 ended 0.81 percent higher at 14,750.84, snapping a four-day losing streak, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.16 percent.
US markets also edged up, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 0.11 percent to 10,951.23 and the Nasdaq gaining 0.51 percent to 2,156.19. Morgan Keegan analyst John Wilson predicted the eventual recovery would be swift, saying the "melt-up" could match the speed of the recent decline.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in June 2006, in its own words.