European shares plunge as global rout accelerates

MarketWatch ^ | Oct. 10, 2008 11:47 a.m. EDT | Sarah Turner, MarketWatch

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

LONDON (MarketWatch) - Shares in Europe recorded another massive one-day fall on Friday following a week of carnage when policymakers and central banks battled to limit damage to the global economy from the recent financial market turmoil.

The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index fell 7.5% to 205.17, which ranks among the worst one-day performances on record for the index.

On Monday, the index closed down 7.6% -- its worst one-day drop ever -- kicking off a week when the Stoxx 600 fell more than 20%. Some strategists are calling this week a bear market within a bear market as the Stoxx 600 is down close to 44% in the last year.

A bear market usually refers to a 20% or more drop from a high.

During the week, the U.K. announced a rescue package for the British banking sector, a move that followed last week's approval of a U.S. bail out plan. This was swiftly followed by coordinated interest rate cuts on Wednesday as governments and central banks tried to convince investors they could deal with problems in the banking sector in a concerted way.

"The banking sector has imploded and led to a situation that is almost untenable," said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin Securities. "Everyone is running scared and not really confident that what the authorities are attempting to do is really going to take root."

[BOBTHENAILER]

There is blood in the streets. Wow.

[kms61]

CNBC has been interviewing traders all morning, and their sentiment is almost univerally bullish. We may be approaching the end of this thing.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

CNBC has been interviewing traders all morning, and their sentiment is almost univerally bullish. We may be approaching the end of this thing.

I don't pretend to be knowledgeable about the market, but the sell-off seems to have reached the point of silliness. There must be some huge bargains out there.