Stocks fell sharply on Wall Street yesterday as global markets were rattled by another day of discouraging developments in Japan and Russia. The Dow Jones industrial average finished 79.30 points - or 0.9 percent - lower at 8,523.35 after sliding as much as 135 points in the morning.

The Dow, which gained just 36 points on Tuesday as a 122-point rally fizzled near the close, is about 800 points below the record 9,337.97 set on July 17th.

Broader indicators also posted steep losses today as the persistent stream of unsettling news from overseas overshadowed a report showing that orders to US factories for long-lasting goods unexpectedly rose in July.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei stock average fell 1.4 per cent amid mounting fears that political wrangling will further delay measures to relieve the bad debt problems.

In the Japanese parliament debate a series of bills aimed at speeding up the write-off of bad loans was stalled when opposition parties boycotted a key committee meeting.