Investing.com - European stock markets extended losses on Monday, as Italian borrowing costs surged to record highs after a government bond auction, adding to concerns over the outlook in the euro zone.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 1.73%, France’s CAC 40 plummeted 1.54%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dropped 1.32%.
Italy’s Treasury raised the maximum targeted amount of EUR3 billion at the sale, but yields on the five-year bonds rose to a euro-era high of 6.29%, up from 5.32% at a similar auction a month ago.
Over the weekend, Italy’s President Giorgio Napolitano appointed former European Commissioner Mario Monti to head a new government as the country attempts to implement austerity measures while simultaneously shoring up economic growth.
The financial sector turned sharply lower, led by Italian lenders as Unicredit saw shares plunge 4.24% and Intesa Sanpaolo tumbled 1.79%, while Banca Popolare di Milano plummeted 3.78%.
Shares in French lenders BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole declined 1.46% and 0.20%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank dropped 2.14% and 1.49% respectively.
Elsewhere, shares in Q-Cells SE plunged 29.22% after the German solar cell and module maker posted a worse-than-expected third-quarter loss of EUR47.3 million.
Meanwhile, German construction group Hochtief AG continued to fall, with shares plunging 9.59% after the company said that global economic and financial turmoil had caused delays in the sale of its airports operating business. The group added that it could report a loss for 2011 if the sales in that unit do not go through this year.
In London, FTSE 100 declined 0.62%, led by losses in the financial sector as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts.
Shares in Barclays plummeted 3.25% and the Royal Bank of Scotland tumbled 1.65%, while Lloyds Banking and Anglo American slumped 1.16% and 0.95% respectively.
Energy stocks also added to losses, as mining giants Rio Tinto and Bhp Billiton declined 1.15% and 1.19%, while British Petroleum slid 0.20%.
Meanwhile, copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys tumbled 1.87% and 1.93% respectively.
On the upside, the U.K.'s biggest commercial broadcaster, ITV Plc jumped 2.56% after reporting a 4.1% increase in nine-month revenue to GBP1.52 billion.
Elsewhere, U.S. equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a fall of 0.27%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.54% drop, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.37% decline.
Earlier Monday, official data showed that industrial output in the euro zone fell at the fastest pace in two-and-a-half years in September, dropping 2%, slightly less than expectations for a 2.2% decline, but erasing all of the previous month’s 1.4% gain.
The weak data underlined concerns over the threat of an economic downturn in the single currency bloc.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 1.73%, France’s CAC 40 plummeted 1.54%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dropped 1.32%.
Italy’s Treasury raised the maximum targeted amount of EUR3 billion at the sale, but yields on the five-year bonds rose to a euro-era high of 6.29%, up from 5.32% at a similar auction a month ago.
Over the weekend, Italy’s President Giorgio Napolitano appointed former European Commissioner Mario Monti to head a new government as the country attempts to implement austerity measures while simultaneously shoring up economic growth.
The financial sector turned sharply lower, led by Italian lenders as Unicredit saw shares plunge 4.24% and Intesa Sanpaolo tumbled 1.79%, while Banca Popolare di Milano plummeted 3.78%.
Shares in French lenders BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole declined 1.46% and 0.20%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank dropped 2.14% and 1.49% respectively.
Elsewhere, shares in Q-Cells SE plunged 29.22% after the German solar cell and module maker posted a worse-than-expected third-quarter loss of EUR47.3 million.
Meanwhile, German construction group Hochtief AG continued to fall, with shares plunging 9.59% after the company said that global economic and financial turmoil had caused delays in the sale of its airports operating business. The group added that it could report a loss for 2011 if the sales in that unit do not go through this year.
In London, FTSE 100 declined 0.62%, led by losses in the financial sector as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts.
Shares in Barclays plummeted 3.25% and the Royal Bank of Scotland tumbled 1.65%, while Lloyds Banking and Anglo American slumped 1.16% and 0.95% respectively.
Energy stocks also added to losses, as mining giants Rio Tinto and Bhp Billiton declined 1.15% and 1.19%, while British Petroleum slid 0.20%.
Meanwhile, copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys tumbled 1.87% and 1.93% respectively.
On the upside, the U.K.'s biggest commercial broadcaster, ITV Plc jumped 2.56% after reporting a 4.1% increase in nine-month revenue to GBP1.52 billion.
Elsewhere, U.S. equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a fall of 0.27%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.54% drop, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.37% decline.
Earlier Monday, official data showed that industrial output in the euro zone fell at the fastest pace in two-and-a-half years in September, dropping 2%, slightly less than expectations for a 2.2% decline, but erasing all of the previous month’s 1.4% gain.
The weak data underlined concerns over the threat of an economic downturn in the single currency bloc.