Wall Street futures indicate a negative start for North American stock markets as tensions escalate in the Middle East.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said his country will press ahead with its war on terrorism, signalling there will be more targeted attacks like the missile strike that killed Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin earlier today.

European indexes have slumped, while Asian markets closed mostly lower, with prices tumbling more than 6% in Taiwan on worries of political uncertainty following a disputed presidential election.

In Hong Kong, the blue-chip Hang Seng Index fell 239.67 points, or 1.87%, to 12,550.91.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei fell 100 points, or 0.88%, to 11,318.51.

In business news, Jay Taylor, president and CEO of Placer Dome, said he will retire effective September 30.

On Friday, the Toronto market produced a slight gain. The S&P/TSX composite index was up 27.91 points at 8,583.81, off 8.23 points on the week.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average ended down 109.18 points, or 1.06%, at 10,186.60. The S&P 500 gave up 12.58 points, or 1.12%, at 1,109.74. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 21.97 points, or 1.12%, to 1,940.47.

It was the second straight down week for all three indexes. For the week, the Dow fell 0.5%, the S&P 500 fell 0.97%, and the Nasdaq ended down 2.2%.