Shares prices collapse, oil, gold soar

LONDON, SEPT. 10. Shocked investors sent European share prices into a free fall and panic-buying caused oil and gold prices to soar in response to the terrorist bombings Tuesday in New York and Washington.

The London Stock Exchange evacuated its headquarters in the city's financial district as a precaution against a possible attack, although a spokesman said trading was continuing at an undisclosed alternative site.

The International Petroleum Exchange suspended trading of crude oil and refined products for an hour to catch up on an unusually heavy volume of transactions, while gold trading on the city's bullion market fizzled earlier in the afternoon.

Investors dumped shares on all major regional stock markets on news of the bombings, and stocks - already battered from several days of heavy selling - plunged further through the afternoon. Among the biggest losers were stocks in airlines.

``It's a disaster. It throws the whole market background into chaos... Banks, insurers will fall the most - anything that's exposed,'' said Mr. Mike Lenhoff, a portfolio strategist at London brokerage, Gerrard.

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Section  : International
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