21.   Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama called for an emergency Cabinet meeting to discuss emergency economic measures, including help to small businesses and lowering of securities taxes.

22.   The government also worries that such drastic lowering of the tax may encourage people to seek big gains through playing in stock market, thus enlarging wealth gap.

23.   Traders said share prices started out flat and lower ahead of the settlement for near-term options contracts.

24.   In Paris, shares were marginally lower ahead of the meeting of the US Federal Reserve.

25.   Sanjay Jain of James Capel said globalisation, lowering of import tarriffs and rising production costs would squeeze the margins of Indian steel producers in the next few years.