The relief enjoyed after an emergency cut to United States interest rates has been short-lived.

An initial rally on European share markets overnight was swept away when the European Central Bank indicated it was not about to make a quick decision on its own interest rates.

Stock prices tumbled almost 5 per cent in Frankfurt, with Paris down 4 per cent and London sliding 2.25 per cent.

On Wall Street, weak profit numbers from Apple and Motorola fuelled worries about recession.

At one stage, New York's Dow Jones index had slumped 326 points or 2.7 per cent, but has since recovered most of that.

In Australia, about 7:00am AEDT, the overnight futures market was down almost 1.5 per cent.
Source: By Australian Broadcasting Corporation