Stock markets across the world remained lower this afternoon despite co-ordinated interest rate cuts by world central banks designed to ease fears about the worst financial crisis in nearly 80 years.
Wall Street, however, looked set to open higher.
Reaction to the cuts - which came from the US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of England and People's Bank of China, among others - initially led investors to trim deep losses on many bourses.
Immediate euphoria dissipated quickly, however, and most markets remained in negative territory, if off their lows.
MSCI's main benchmark index of world stocks, for example, remained near 4-year lows, down 1.9 per cent compared with 2.9 per cent as the cuts were announced. Dublin's Iseq was 2.5 per cent lower at 3,215 having earlier been almost 5 per cent lower.
Its emerging market stock counterpart was off 6.6 per cent.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was down 0.9 per cent versus 2.9 per cent before the cuts. Tokyo's Nikkei share average , which closed long before the central bank moves, plummeted 9.4 per cent.
Government debt prices jumped on the overall equity selloff and investors snatched anything resembling stability, such as gold which rose 1.4 per cent and the low-yielding Japanese yen.
"It's helpful," said Jim Awad, chairman of W.P. Stewart & Co, referring to the concerted moved by central banks. "It's a happy constructive event. It's part of a process, but it's not sufficient."
The rate cuts were just part of efforts by various authorities to inject calm and money into the battered financial system.
Britain unveiled a multibillion pound rescue package for British banks that included plans to inject up to £50 billion ($87.84 billion) of government money into the country's biggest operators.
It was designed to offer banks short-term liquidity, make new capital available and give the banking system enough funds to maintain lending in the medium-term.
Investors had been calling for rate cuts before Wednesday's move. Some now say they want more.
"Where we go from now for rates is unclear, and we should suggest that rates should probably come down again," said Philip Shaw, economist at Investec.
The losses on stock markets this week have been huge.
MSCI's world index, a gauge which many investors use to judge their performance has already lost around 10 per cent since Friday's close and is on track for its worst week in the 20 years it has been in its current form.
Reuters