Print <javascript:window.print();> | Close this window <javascript: window.close();> *European stocks sink 4 pct in a sea of red* Mon Jan 21, 2008 6:13am EST
LONDON, Jan 21 (Reuters) - European shares sank 4 percent by late morning on Monday, putting them on track for their biggest one-day fall in more than four and a half years as U.S. recession fears rattled investors and oils and financials took a hammering. At 1108 GMT, the FTSEurofirst index index of top European shares was down 3.9 percent at 1,304.98 points, a level not seen in eighteen months. Heavyweight energy stocks were the top individual negative weights, with BP (BP.L: Quote <http://www.reuters.com/stocks/quote?symbol=BP.L>, Profile<http://www.reuters.com/stocks/companyProfile?symbol=BP.L>, Research <http://www.reuters.com/stocks/researchReports?symbol=BP.L>) down 4.6 percent and Total (TOTF.PA: Quote<http://www.reuters.com/stocks/quote?symbol=TOTF.PA>, Profile <http://www.reuters.com/stocks/companyProfile?symbol=TOTF.PA>, Research <http://www.reuters.com/stocks/researchReports?symbol=TOTF.PA>) 4.5percent. But banks were the worst sector, contributing a quarter of the index's losses. "This looks like a climax sell-off," said Brewin Dolphin chief strategist Mike Lenhoff. (Reporting by Sitaraman Shankar) (c) Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world. Reuters journalists are subject to the Reuters Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
