Shares on Wall Street closed at their lowest levels in five years as hope dimmed in Washington for an emergency bailout of the auto industry.

Global stocks fell sharply despite earlier gains on Wall Street, with some down more than 9 percent. Europe's major exchanges opened with declines of around 5 percent.

Trading in U.S. index futures suggested that Wall Street stocks would open about 1 percent lower. On Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 2.5 percent.

BOSTON, Oct 17 (IPS) - The George W. Bush administration handed 125
billion dollars to nine of Wall Street's richest banks, but
this will do little to help the economy that is crumbling around
ordinary U.S. citizens, independent experts and activists say.

GRAPEVINE, Texas (Reuters) - At one intersection of Wall Street and Main Street, retailers and shoppers say America's economic woes are spurring new patterns in consumer behavior.

Stocks across the Asia-Pacific region were sharply lower, as investors reeled from the overnight developments on Wall Street.

The Nikkei fell more than 10 percent in early Friday trading following another fall on Wall Street.

Wall Street, reeling from six days of declines, opened higher but then fell, a day after world central banks joined in coordinated action to cut borrowing costs.

The urge to punish that helped delay the passage of Washington's economic rescue plan is more than Wall Street loathing: it's based in instincts that have had a protective effect on communities.

Stocks tumbled around the world on Monday and opened sharply lower on Wall Street as fears grew that the financial crisis was spreading.