US share prices have sustained another heavy fall, with the Dow Jones Index closing down 2.2 per cent, a drop of 235 points to 10,466.93.

The decline was attributed mainly to fears of higher interest rates, with the financial stocks and cyclical industrial shares suffering heavily. High-flying Internet shares also suffered although other technology shares were more stable and the Nasdaq index closed down just 0.33 per cent. It was the biggest points decline in the Dow index this year and comes ahead of a long bank holiday weekend in the US. Market analysts said that international tensions in Kosovo and Kashmir were also weighing on investors.