Around the World's Markets: Frankfurt

THE BLUE-CHIP Xetra DAX index fell 81.04 points, or 1.7 per cent, to 4,681.34 points, while the floor-traded DAX shed 2.22 per cent to 4,662.78 after a lower opening on Wall Street. Traders said nine-month results and cautious comments about the future by BASF, Germany's largest chemical maker, had weighed heavily on market sentiment.

BASF shares fell 3.2 per cent after chief executive Juergen Strube said the firm's 1999 result would be worse than this year's.