MW: European stocks slump as global selloff continues
Royal Bank of Scotland shares tumble after results
By Simon Kennedy, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — European stock markets slumped in early trading Friday, extending a global selloff as the Continent’s sovereign-debt crisis and worries over global growth sent investors running for the exit.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index XX:SXXP -3.14% tumbled 3.1% to 235.62 — its lowest level since May 2010 — following heavy selling in Asia and the U.S.
All sectors were trading deep in the red, with banks among the worst performers. Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC UK:RBS -12.78% RBS -10.53% dropped 12%, having plunged as much as 21% in early trading, after the bank swung to a second-quarter loss and took hefty impairments on its Greek debt holdings.
The U.K. FTSE 100 index UK:UKX -1.96% slumped 3.5% to 5,207.12, the French CAC 40 index FR:PX1 -2.36% dropped 2.1% to 3,249.15 and the German DAX 30 index DX:DAX -3.41% sank 3.1% to 6,213.78.
“Equity markets are heading into the weekend break in a state of absolute panic with traders’ screens swamped by a sea of red,” said Cameron Peacock, a market analyst at IG Markets.
“There’s quite literally no support being seen in the market despite previous assertions that even with the outlook being so shaky, equities are left looking increasingly cheap,” he added in an email.
Among other heavy fallers, car makers were down across the board, including a 4.6% drop for PSA Peugeot Citroen FR:UG -6.58% in Paris and a 5.4% fall for Volkswagen AG DE:VOW3 -4.56% in Frankfurt.
