At European stock exchanges, leading indices fell at the beginning of today’s trading, following losses on Wall Street and Asian markets, with the banking sector under the greatest pressure.
The FTSEurofirst index of 300 leading European stocks fell by 0.3 percent to 801 points, š marking the seventh consecutive day of decline. Since the beginning of the year, this index has lost 3.6 percent. The London FTSE, Paris CAC, and Frankfurt DAX indices are down more than 1 percent. Following yesterday’s series of bad news from the largest American and European banks, the banking sector is among the biggest losers this morning. The share price of Postbank fell by 15 percent, Anglo Irish Bank by 9 percent, and HSBC by 3.2 percent. On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Nikkei index plunged 4.9 percent to 8,023 points, the lowest level in a month. (H)
