Washington  - US stocks dropped Friday, capping a dismal end to another volatile week, over concerns that a slump in retail sales revealed the extent of a looming recession.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 337.94 points, or 3.82 per cent, as investors grappled with the bleak outlook for consumer spending.

Frankfurt - The world's leading central banks are ready to take more steps to stabilize global markets if need be, Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the US Federal Reserve, said Friday.

He said continuing volatility and recent economic indicators show that there are challenges ahead. Bernanke was in Germany to attend a conference sponsored by the European Central Bank to review the history of the euro.

The stock market continued to trade in negative terrain because of heavy selling action witnessed across some of the frontline stocks.

Auto, consumer goods, metal and IT stocks have registered sharp losses.

While some modest buying was seen in the smallcap space, a number of midcap stocks were struggling in the red zone because of sustained selling pressure.

The market breadth was weak. Out of 2381 stocks, 1329 stocks were down in the negative territory. 961 stocks recorded gains and 91 stocks traded flat.

Hong Kong  - Bargain-hunters drove Hong Kong share prices up by more than 2 per cent Friday as nerves eased slightly following heavy losses a day earlier.

The blue-chip Hang Seng Index rose 321.31 points, or 2.43 per cent, to end the week at 13,542.66 points. Turnover was a relatively light 44.7 billion Hong Kong dollars (5.76 billion US dollars).

The minor rebound came after the index fell back more than 5 per cent Thursday. Shares jumped more than 3.5 per cent in early trading Friday but fell back later in the day.

Tokyo - Stocks bounced back Friday in Tokyo on the back of Wall Street's overnight rise and the yen weakening against the dollar.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 223.75 points, or 2.72 per cent, to close at 8,462.39.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also up 9.38 points, or 1.12 per cent, to 846.91.

Investors scooped up mainly export-oriented issues on a weaker yen as it helps boost earnings of Japanese firms.

For the week, Nikkei dropped 1.41 per cent, and Topix fell 3.65 per cent.

Indian equities rallied at the opening time on the back of encouraging global signals and domestic inflationary figures calming down to single digit levels.

But, stocks tumbled into the red zone because of profit booking.

Realty, metal stocks gained ground, while consumer goods, IT and oil & gas stocks have shed a major portion of their early gains.. BSE Midcap and Smallcap index declined 0.38% and 0.19% respectively.

The 30-share index BSE Sensex, today, opened with a gain of 262.92 points, at 9,799.25.