BEIJING, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- The following are the indices of major stock markets worldwide on Thursday.

IN ASIA

The Shanghai Composite Index opened at 3,857.26 points, down 13.02 points, or 0.34 percent.

The Shenzhen Component Index opened at 13,112.61 points, down 111.90 points, or 0.85 percent.

The Hang Seng Index opened at 25,330.83 points, down 137.95 points, or 0.54 percent.

The S&P/ASX 200 index opened at 8,558.80 points, down 26.40 points, or 0.31 percent.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average opened at 49,058.31 points, down 453.97 points, or 0.92 percent.

The Straits Times Index opened at 4,578.21 points, up 2.73 points, or 0.06 percent.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index opened at 3,989.60 points, down 66.81 points, or 1.65 percent.

IN THE UNITED STATES

The S&P 500 Index closed at 6,721.43 points, down 78.83 points, or 1.16 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 47,885.97 points, down 228.29 points, or 0.47 percent.

The Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 22,693.32 points, down 418.14 points, or 1.81 percent.

IN EUROPE

The DAX Index closed at 23,960.59 points, down 116.28 points, or 0.48 percent.

The FTSE 100 Index closed at 9,774.32 points, up 89.53 points, or 0.92 percent.

The Paris CAC 40 closed at 8,086.05 points, down 20.11 points, or 0.25 percent. Enditem

(This article is generated by Xinhua News Robot.)