Eurozone worries dent bank shares
EUROPEAN stocks tumbled four per cent yesterday, with banks plumbing a more than two-year low, as fears for the future of the Eurozone bubbled up against a background of weak economic growth and threats to the banking sector.
The euro fell across the board, with peripheral Eurozone debt concerns and political uncertainty in Germany prompting rises in both the dollar and safe-haven Swiss franc.
Worries about public deficits in Greece and Italy and a regional election rout for Germany’s ruling party cast fresh doubt on the Eurozone’s ability to tackle its debt crisis.
Wall Street was closed for a holiday but it was unlikely US investors would have been in any more of a positive mood given Friday’s poor job data.
That fuelled concerns that the US is slipping back into recession andprompted oil to sell off yesterday, with benchmark Brent dropping below $110 a barrel.