Premarket: Stocks in the red at quarter-end

Global stocks dropped sharply, as investors marked the end of the quarter by bailing out of the market.

Germany's DAX sank 3 per cent, France's CAC 40 slid 2.4 per cent and Britain's FTSE 100 fell 1.8 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 2.3 per cent and Japan's Nikkei 225 was little changed

Dow futures lost 129 points, or 1.2 per cent, to 10,970, while S&P 500 futures slipped 14.8 points, or 1.3 per cent, to 1,141.50. It could be a rough ride, as Globe reporter Nicolas Johnson points out.

Investors were rattled after euro zone prices jumped 3 per cent in September, a surprise increase that makes it less likely the European Central Bank will cut interest rates next week. Inflation was the highest since October 2008 and markedly higher than August's 2.5 per cent. Unemployment in the euro zone was steady at 10 per cent in August.

Greece's Prime Minister George Papandreou was scheduled to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Friday to discuss Greece's sovereign debt crisis. France will be one of the key contributors to an expanded European rescue fund.

The euro softened, and the Canadian dollar fell to its lowest point in a year, trading at 95.61 cents (U.S.), as the greenback gained ground.

Gold rose to $1,624 an ounce, on track for its biggest quarterly gain this year as concerns over the euro zone debt crisis enhanced its appeal as a haven.

U.S. crude dipped 0.2 per cent to $81.95 a barrel.

Copper fell 2.4 per cent, heading for its worst month in three years, on fears over global economic growth.