Frankfurt stocks down 1.05pc at open

FRANKFURT: The Frankfurt DAX index of leading shares lost 1.05 percent to 6,170.69 points at the start of trade on Monday as investors braced for the backlash from a US ratings downgrade and the eurozone debt crisis.

The DAX then rebounded somewhat to show a much more modest loss of 0.15 percent in early trade.

Asian markets posted much more substantial losses following a global battering last week as concern grew that with an unprecedented US credit ratings downgrade, economies could slip back into recession.

Earlier on Monday the Group of Seven industrialised economies vowed to underpin financial stability after the European Central Bank said it would "actively" buy eurozone bonds to help ease the pressure on weak eurozone countries.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2010