Frankfurt - European shares slumped more than 2 per cent in opening trading Wednesday, picking up on a downbeat end to Wall Street and steep falls in Asia.

As renewed concerns emerged about the outlook for the global economy and profits, Europe's blue-chip Stoxx 50 began the trading day down 2.5 per cent at 2,286 points.

The fall was mirrored across key national European markets with shares in London, Frankfurt, Paris and Zurich all sliding by more than
2 per cent.

Fresh economic concerns resulted in the oil price dropping by 3.3 per cent below 70 dollars a barrel on expectations of falling demand for energy. In July energy prices were heading towards 150 dollars a barrel.

Beijing, Oct 22: China has reportedly hailed the opening up of bilateral trade between India and Pakistan through two road routes after 60 years, saying that the two countries would work harder to promote bilateral relations.

“China is a neighbour and friend of both Pakistan and India,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang during a press briefing in Beijing here last evening.

On the occasion, Gang also said that Beijing would continue to co-operate with Pakistan in its endeavour in the civilian nuclear energy field. “I have repeated on many occasions that we have sound co-operation and relations with Pakistan. We would like to continue this co-operation on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.”

Beijing - This week's largest ever gathering of Asian and European leaders was planned to focus on efforts to combat climate change and promote sustainable development, but those efforts now look likely to be overshadowed by the need to respond to the global financial turmoil.

Talks on the financial crisis are expected to be "very intense" between leaders of the 27 European and 16 Asian nations at the seventh biannual Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Beijing, Serge Abou, the EU ambassador to China, told reporters.

"The main thing is to come out with strong and united messages conveying confidence," Herve Ladsous, the French ambassador to China, said of the talks on global finance.

Tokyo - Asia-Pacific stocks soared Monday after South Korea announced a more than 130-billion-dollar package to stabilize the country's financial sector.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average was up 3.59 per cent at 9,005.59 while its broader Topix index of all first-section issues gained 3.7 per cent to close at 927.37.

The market for Asia's largest economy was also buoyed by speculation that corporate earnings reports would beat analysts' expectations.

The biggest percentage increase of the day was seen in Hong Kong, where the benchmark Hang Seng Index closed up 5.28 per cent, buoyed by a general rebound in stocks across Asia.

Tokyo - Stock markets across Asia see-sawed Friday between small gains and losses, as investors reacted to mixed signals from Asia's economies, with most markets ending the week down, not able to recover from the earlier plunge.

   Countering the trend, Tokyo stocks climbed Friday after an overnight surge on Wall Street to end trading up almost 3 per cent as investors bought back shares battered by the previous day's losses.

   The Nikkei 225 Stock Average jumped 235.37 points, or 2.78 per cent, to close at 8,693.82. Tokyo's broader Topix index of all first-section issues also gained 29.77 points, or 3.44 per cent, to 894.29.

   The recovery came after Japan's benchmark index plunged 11.41 per cent Thursday.

Kuala Lumpur - A Malaysian police bomb squad safely detonated a live 430-kilogram bomb that was found on a university campus in the northern state of Perlis, news reports said Friday.

A heavy machinery operator discovered the bomb, believed to have been dropped during World War II, on Thursday, prompting police to block roads leading to the area, the Bernama news agency reported.