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NEW YORK, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Wall Street just finished a disastrous week, with the Dow Jones industrial average suffering its worst weekly decline in nearly three years, as market sentiment was battered by bleak economic outlook.
Analysts say that the fears over a double-dip recession will continue to weigh on the market in the near future, and policy makers need to take decisive measures to restore confidence.

MARKETS IN TURMOIL
Losses were across the board in equity market.
In the course of the five sessions that ended Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled more than 700 points, or 6.4 percent, to 10,771.48. This was the worst week for the blue-chip index since October 2008, when global financial markets crashed after the collapse of banking giant Lehman Brothers.
The broader Standard & Poor's 500, which is regarded as the barometer of the stock market, lost 6.5 percent for the week. More than 100 S&P 500 companies hit their 52-lows on Friday, underscoring the wide scope of market sell-off.
Since the market peaked on April 29, the Dow is off 15.9 percent, while the S&P 500 lost 16.6 percent and the Nasdaq is down 13.6 percent, approaching a bear market when major indexes plunged more than 20 percent from previous highs. Notably, four of the ten sectors that make up the S&P 500 have already officially slipped into bear territory.
Commodities fared even worse as investors sell almost whatever they can to raise cash. Gold futures, usually seen as safe-haven assets, settled below 1,700 dollars an ounce for the first time since Aug. 5 and also notched their largest one-day percentage drop in five years. For the week, gold tumbled nearly 10 percent, its worst in decades.
Silver was also smashed, freefalling more than 26 percent in five trading sessions, while crude oil closed below the important psychological level of 80 dollar a barrel for the second time since October 2010.

INTENSIFIED RECESSION FEARS
The massive sell-off in Wall Street highlighted intensified fears among investors over the gloomy economic outlook on both side of the Atlantics.
In the United States, not only the housing market still stuck in a downward spiral, manufacturing sector which once lead the recovery also showed clear signs of weakening. Frustrated by lofty unemployment rate, consumer sentiment slumped to the lowest in more than two years.
With the economy only growing at an annual rate of 0.7 percent in the first half of the year, even the Federal Reserve was not so sure about the strength of the recovery.
In its highly-anticipated statement after a two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, the central bank admitted that a complete economic recovery was still years away, warning that the U.S. economy has "significant downside risks to the economic outlook, including strains in global financial markets."
Startled by the Fed's severe remarks, global markets posted sharp declines in the next day and even the Fed's bold efforts to stimulus the economy were seen as another evidence of a worsening economy.
In the meantime, news outside the United States was nothing but disturbing. Data showed Germany's and France's Purchasing Manager Indexes (PMI) in September dipped to their lowest levels since 2009, indicating the growth in eurozone's two biggest economies was losing steam.
Adding to the uncertainties, the debt problems in Europe were far from settled. The difference among eurozone countries, especially those more fiscally healthy countries, on how to drag the debt-burdened Greece out of the debt abyss added to fears that Greece can hardly avert a debt default and other countries like Italy, Span even France were in danger.
The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, known as the VIX or the "fear index" soared about 33 percent in the past week, reflecting growing concerns over global economic woes.

DECISIVE ACTIONS NEEDED
After a turbulent week, analysts said economic uncertainties will continue to weigh heavily on the market in the near future and confidence can not be restored until policy makers in the United States as well as in Europe take decisive measures to bring the sluggish economies on both continents back to life.
"We have a fragile recovery in America and difficulty in Japan, but Europe has the danger of really having a major crisis either in the banking system or in general. If that happens in Europe it will almost surely take the United States into a second downturn because we are each other's biggest trading partners," said Michael Spence, a Nobel laureate and professor for economics at New York University.
In an effort to lift sentiment, the finance ministers and central bankers of the G20 major economies issued an unexpected statement on Thursday night, several hours after Wall Street's crash, pledging to "take all steps necessary" to maintain stability and restore confidence in the global financial system.
However, their promises failed to stabilize the market as investors are looking for actions rather than words.
"The only plan (that was agreed to take) to stabilize the world financial system ahead of a known and imminent shock is to do nothing other than what has already been done. To say that this is a disappointment is an understatement." said Carl B. Weinberg, chief economist of High Frequency Economics.
"There is a general sense of great uncertainty about the willingness of policy makers in both America and Europe to aggressively tackle the issues," Spence told Xinhua.
"To bring confidence back into the markets, decisive action is needed, especially by European governments," he added. Enditem( Xinhua reporter Qiao Jihong, Christine Schiffner contributed to this story)