New York: A Tuesday no sane soul can forget. The Tuesday when terror left the United States of America literally crippled. Suddenly the whole world at least the democratic nations and those that are not in love with terrorism donned the robe of mourning.The treacherous Tuesday has left a deep wound that will not heal for eons to come. And the attack was also a stinging blow to the world of capitalism and economy.

The plot and events even bettered a Spielberg slick. Two hijacked passenger airlines plunged into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, crumbling them like a house of cards, killing thousands of people, while another plane struck and badly damaged the US defence headquarters at Pentagon in Washington.Panicking office workers jumped from windows in the Center as it collapsed during attempts to evacuate the building. In Washington, the Pentagon - the heart of the US military establishment - suffered a direct hit from another hijacked passenger jet. Part of the five-sided structure collapsed and secondary explosions were reported as huge clouds of smoke rose from the wreckage. Pentagon spokesman Glenn Flood said there were extensive casualties and an unknown number of fatalities.

Another passenger jet crashed in Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh. The plane's intended target was believed to be the Maryland presidential retreat, Camp David. President George W Bush, who cut short a visit to Florida on hearing the news, said the US would hunt down and punish those responsible.

The attacks, suspected to be the handiwork of a terrorist outfit, have shaken the world with the fear of an impending meltdown of global economy. New York, the worlds financial capital, is in a shambles.

The attacks have put stock markets all over the world in chaos and confusion. Trading has been suspended in New York and the markets will remain closed on Wednesday. Share prices on European exchanges plummeted.

The world's largest electronic stock market, the Nasdaq, suspended all its trading for the day, as did the American Stock Exchange.

Crude oil and gold bullion prices rose sharply before trading was suspended on most major world exchanges after the devastating terrorist attacks. Oil prices jumped nearly $4 a barrel in London.

All government buildings in America were evacuated, including the White House and Congress, warships and aircraft carriers deployed near New York, the US Air Force jets ordered to shoot down any suspicious airplane flying over the US and all flights to and from the country were cancelled. America's 15,000 airports were closed almost immediately following the attacks. European airports quickly clogged up as flights were cancelled and diverted and security operations stepped up, while other staff tried to comfort distressed passengers.

The US embassy and consulates in New Delhi and Mumbai have been closed and placed under heavy security as precautionary measures. World leaders have reacted with shock and outrage to news of the devastating attacks. Among those sending messages of condolence were Russian President Vladimir Putin, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.

Markets close

New York: Trading on the main US stock markets will continue to be suspended throughout Wednesday. Trading came to a virtual halt on US and European stock and commodities exchanges on Tuesday afternoon.
European stock markets plummeted, with Frankfurt down 8.6 per cent, London losing 5.7 per cent - its biggest one-day fall since 1987 - and Paris plunging 7.4 per cent.
The New York Stock Exchange and the Nymex Commodities Exchange, just a few hundred metres from the devastated Trade Center towers, were evacuated, and trading was suspended "indefinitely." The world's largest electronic stock market, the Nasdaq, suspended all its trading for the day, as did the American Stock Exchange.
On currency markets, the dollar plunged against the euro, the Swiss franc and the yen, while trading in oil was suspended in London, New York and Chicago, after prices rose sharply following the attacks.
The US central bank, the Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank said they would stand by to provide cash to the banking system to ensure financial stability.

Financial workers

Many of those killed and injured in the New York attacks are likely to be financial workers, including, possibly, key figures from banking and trade, the BBC reported.Several top financial institutions had offices in the World Trade Center, including investment bank Morgan Stanley, which was the building's largest tenant with 25 floors, Switzerland's Credit Suisse Group, Germany's Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank and Bank of America.The 47-storey Salomon Brothers building next to the devastated twin towers of the World Trade Centre collapsed on Tuesday evening after catching fire. A spokesman for Salomon brothers said the building, the former headquarters of the bank prior to its merger with Citigroup, was evacuated.

London markets

In Germany, the Frankfurt stock exchange was evacuated on Tuesday evening following a bomb threat. London's stock exchange was also evacuated as a safety precaution, although screen-based trading continued.
A spokesman for the London Stock Exchange said trading would continue as normal on Wednesday.

Markets in free fall

European markets went into freefall in the immediate aftermath of the attacks. In Germany, where trading in all US stocks was suspended, the main stock markets closed 45 minutes earlier than usual.
At one point the Dax index of leading shares was down nearly 12 per cent, but by the close it had recovered slightly to end down 8.6 per cent.
In Paris, the Cac 40 index closed down 7.4 per cent.

Oil and gold prices zoom

London: Crude oil and gold bullion prices rose sharply before trading was suspended on most major world exchanges after the attacks. Oil prices jumped nearly $4 a barrel in London.  Officials from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) said the group was committed to ensuring stability in world oil markets. There was panic buying of metals, gold and oil.
Gold soared nearly 6 per cent or $16, an ounce after the attacks, with the London benchmark fixing price climbing to $287 in the afternoon from the morning's benchmark $271
When European trading ended, gold spot prices were quoted at $289.80/290.30 an ounce, up from Monday's New York close of $271.40/271.90.
Oil giants BP and Shell and defence company BAE Systems were the only three among the UK's top 100 listed firms to see their shares rise on Tuesday. In Johannesburg, a big world centre for gold trading, gold prices leapt to $289.9 an ounce from $271.15.