Friday, April 1, 2011

Downgrades and stress tests spark bank sell-off

Financial Times
March 31, 2011

Nervousness ahead of stress test results for Irish banks and ratings downgrades for financials in Greece and Portugal sparked losses for Europe’s equities indices.

Shares in Irish banks were suspended ahead of the test results – which came after the close of trading – helping stocks to rise by 0.4 per cent in Dublin.

However, fears that the tests would reveal capital shortfalls contributed to losses for banking stocks across the continent.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell 0.5 per cent to 1,124.88.

More

No comments: