Credit woes spark fall on Wall Street

Wall Street shares ended markedly lower yesterday as fresh fears emerged over the distressed US housing and credit markets, dampening investors' optimism.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 143.64 points (1.07 per cent) at 13,305.22 just after the closing bell, while the Nasdaq composite lost 24.29 points (0.92 per cent) to 2605.95.

The Standard & Poor's 500 broad-market index declined 17.29 points (1.16 per cent) to a preliminary close of 1472.13.