Bargain-hunters snap up blue-chip shares, helping the Saudi all-share index trim some losses made earlier in the session. The measure was down 2.02 percent at 6,025 points after falling about 7 percent in early trading.

The finance chiefs of the Group of Seven major advanced economies announced have a broad five-point action plan to tackle a global crisis that has markets and the banking system reeling.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said that the US government planned to invest directly in US banks to prevent them from failing, expanding the focus of the government's 700-billion-dollar rescue plan.

The Italian employers' association predicts negative growth for the country next year, its head said on Saturday, down nearly one percentage point to minus 0.5 percent, ANSA news agency reported.

US President George W. Bush said on Saturday after crisis talks with finance ministers from the G7 rich countries that all agreed the world financial meltdown required "a serious global response".