The recent rally on the markets is now the most distant memory. Stocks continued to fall
today amid concerns about the European sovereign debt crisis, negligible growth figures in the developed world and cooling Asian economies. Robert Peston has an excellent account of the causes and effects of the latest rout.
Banking stocks were brutalised, with Barclays and RBS both shedding more than 10 per cent of their value, with Lloyds and HSBC not far behind. Continental banking stocks were similarly mauled, with Soc Gen losing 12.34 per cent and Commerzbank being shorn of 10.42 per cent of its value.
But the unease spread across exchanges as investors put their money in the safest havens. The price of gold, for instance, reached a new high of $1,816/oz today, and yields on UK gilts remained at record lows during this morning’s debt auction.
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