Kiev- Ukraine's leading PFTS stock exchange plummeted on Tuesday, with some shares losing 9 per cent in minutes after opening and the government considering another halt to trading of some firms.

Stock in the massive Azovstal steel company dropped 9.15 per cent in value shortly after trading began, and "practically all" of Ukraine's other major metals manufacturers were early big losers, the Interfax news agency reported.

Analysts cited a vicious combination of falling industrial commodity prices in world markets, the international credit squeeze, and domestic fears of new parliamentary elections stemming from a hung legislature, as the key grounds for the fall.

Ukraine's government on Monday halted trading of selected stocks in an attempt to curb mounting losses.

A similar stop to buying and selling Azovstal and other metals company shares was being reviewed by the state property fund, according to market insiders. PFTS officials had no immediate comment on the reports.

Ukraine's leading KP-Dragon stock index lost 12.3 per cent of its value on Monday along, and markets were on a pace to match or exceed the tailspin on Tuesday, according to a market analysis published by the authoritative Dragon Capital trading house.

Vitaly Korny, a market trader, predicted no early end to the contraction, saying "we expect even more price losses in the future. ... In these conditions it will be difficult for the market to maintain itself at its current level."

Company share price losses on Monday already have been some of the worst of the year, led by the energy company Ukrnafta down 16 per cent, and chemical manufacturer Stirol plummeting
18 per cent during the trading day.

Heavy sell offs of Alchevsk Steel and Azovstal constituted a quarter of the Monday drop.

Ukrainian steel production - considered by observers the engine of the former Soviet republic's economy - is at its lowest level since 2004, and 17 of the country's 36 blast furnaces have halted production due to soft international demand for steel, Kommersant- Ukraina magazine reported. (dpa)