US financial markets have been eating - not talking - turkey, making for a quieter night on global equity exchanges.

The New York Stock Exchange will reopen tonight for a shortened session after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Ahead of the break, the Dow Jones industrial average had tumbled 211 points or 1.6 per cent.

Investment bank, Goldman Sachs, and mortgage lender, Countrywide Financial Corp, were among the stocks to be battered.

Investors have been worried the subprime mortgage crisis could worsen, spilling further into the broader US economy.

Overnight in Europe, however, share markets have generally moved higher.

The British share market has jumped ahead on merger activity in the utilities sector.

The big pharmaceutical companies have also been well supported.

London's FT-100 index has risen 84 points to 6,155, a rally of 1.4 per cent.

Yesterday, the Australian market sank to a nine-week low, again dragged down by the banking and resource sectors.

The All Ordinaries index slid a further 55 points to 6,395, a dip of 0.9 per cent.

BHP Billiton shares fell 61 cents to $40.44, while Rio Tinto was down $2.13 to $128.77.

Concerns about losses on global credit markets hurt the big banks again.

National Australia Bank dropped 81 cents to $40.48, and Macquarie Group shed 56 cents to $75.71.

Shares in stricken mortgage lender, Rams, lost 3.5 cents to 22 cents as it struggles to refinance some of its debt by a February deadline.

Telstra shares swam against the tide, gaining nine cents to $4.63.

There has been a shortened session on the Sydney Futures Exchange due to the holiday in the US.

The Share Price Index 200 contract has closed up 12 points at 6,383.

The ten-year bond contract is down two points at 94.11 with the implied yield rising to 5.89 per cent.

On foreign exchange markets, the US dollar has hit a fresh low against the Euro in European trade, as markets continue to digest the downgraded forecast for economic growth from the US Federal Reserve.

At one stage, the euro reached $US1.48.

The Australian dollar has fallen again overnight.

At 7:15am AEDT, the local currency was being quoted at 87.05 US cents, a drop of 0.6 cents on yesterday's local close.

On the cross-rates, it was at 58.61 Euro cents, 94.45 Japanese yen, 42.21 pence Sterling, and against the New Zealand dollar it was at $NZ1.16.

The gold price was being quoted at about $US805 an ounce.