A roundup of trading on major world markets:

NEW YORK – US stocks dived Tuesday after Greece unexpectedly called a referendum on its latest EU bailout program, sending global markets into a tailspin.

Sentiment also was hit by disappointing manufacturing data for China, the global economy’s growth engine.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 297.05 points (2.48 per cent) to finish at 11,657.96.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid 77.45 points (2.89 per cent) to 2,606.96. The S&P 500-stock index, a broader measure of the markets, shed 35.02 points (2.79 per cent) to 1,218.28.

Stocks extended Monday’s sharp losses amid rising fears that the eurozone debt crisis plan and a new bailout package for Greece were on the rails.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou on Monday (local time) called a confidence vote and a national referendum on last week’s proposed EU debt deal, a political gamble to silence growing opposition to his policies.

Adding to weaker sentiment was data from the world’s second-biggest economy China which showed manufacturing activity slowed last month.

The official Chinese purchasing managers’ index (PMI) dropped to 50.4 in October from 51.2 in September.

The Institute of Supply Management reported slowing growth in the US manufacturing sector in October: its PMI index reading slipped to 50.8 per cent from 51.6 per cent in September.

The bond market sharply rallied. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.00 per cent from 2.18 per cent late Monday, while that on the 30-year Treasury slid to 3.00 per cent from 3.20 per cent.

LONDON – European stock markets have plunged after Greece announced a referendum on its latest bailout deal, agreed only last week, putting the hard won accord in jeopardy and Europe in uncharted waters.

The markets have tumbled as investors begin “to factor in an ever increasingly likelihood of a Greek default”, Ladwa said.

In London, the benchmark FTSE-100 index of top companies lost 2.21 per cent to 5,421.57 points, but even this sharp loss was better than most others.

In Paris, the CAC-40 slumped 5.38 per cent to 3,068.33 points and in Frankfurt, the DAX-30 was down 5.0 per cent to 5,834.51 points.

Milan tumbled 6.8 per cent and Madrid fell 4.19 per cent while Athens, the epicentre of the latest crisis, dropped 6.82 per cent.

Italy was especially under pressure as investors looked to cash out at all costs amid increasing fears Rome will need outside help to get through its debt crisis.

The impasse between Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his coalition partner the Northern League makes the situation worse, forcing Italian borrowing costs toward dangerously high levels on Tuesday.

The yield on Italian 10-year bonds rose to around 6.2 per cent, close to its record of 6.397 per cent reached in August, reflected growing nerves over the outlook for Rome.

The euro fell sharply to $US1.3706 from $US1.3851 in New York late Monday but was off its lows.

HONG KONG – Renewed concerns over the European debt crisis and a big fall on Wall Street hit most Asian markets on Tuesday while the euro remained under pressure after suffering heavy losses overnight.

Adding to weaker sentiment was data from China showing manufacturing activity slowed last month, indicating expansion of the world’s second biggest economy is continuing to slow.

Tokyo fell 1.70 per cent, or 152.87 points, to 8,835.52, Sydney lost 1.52 per cent, or 65.2 points, to end at 4,232.9 and Hong Kong tumbled 2.49 per cent, or 494.91 points, to 19,369.96. Seoul closed flat, edging up 0.60 points to 1,909.63, while Shanghai was also flat, ticking 1.77 points, higher at 2,470.02.

After last week’s impressive global rally in the wake of a European plan to tackle its debilitating debt crisis traders have grown concerned about the lack of detail.

The Australian dollar fell after the central bank said it was cutting interest rates for the first time in more than two years, with the unit dipping to 103.48 US cents from 105.29 US cents.

Investors were also disappointed by figures showing China’s manufacturing growth had slowed in October.

WELLINGTON – Wellington closed flat, edging up just 0.21 points, to 3,332.77.