Spain Sees Borrowing Costs Rise in Latest Bond Sale - NYTimes.co. Spain Sees Borrowing Costs Rise. In afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 3.6 percent, at 10,579.44 points, but earlier in the session sank by as much as 9.2 percent. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index was down 3.7 percent to 1,122.27. The Nasdaq composite was off 3.4 percent at 2,320.53 points. Major European markets also tumbled, but not to the same degree. After a strong showing early in the session, the IBEX 35, the benchmark stock index in Madrid, closed down 2.9 percent, while the Euro Stoxx 50 index of euro-zone blue chips fell 2.5 percent. The FTSE 100 in London slid 1.5 percent and the CAC 40 in Paris fell 2.2 percent. In Frankfurt, the DAX closed 0.8 percent lower.
The euro also fell sharply, slumping to $1.2614 from $1.2814 late Wednesday. The Spanish Treasury said that it sold €2.3 billion, or almost $3 billion, of five-year bonds at an average yield of 3.58 percent. The Spanish bonds met with healthy demand, with investors seeking 2.35 times more securities than were offered. Europe Crisis Deepens As Chaos Grips Greece. Sovereigns fight back | Money Supply | FT.com. E.C.B. Leaves Rates Unchanged. Europe Finance Chief Complains About Ratings Agencies - NYTimes. Wall Street Unable to Put Greece Behind It. It lasted just 16 minutes but left Wall Street experts and ordinary investors alike struggling to come to grips with what had happened — and fearful of where the markets might go from here.
At least part of the sell-off appeared to be linked to trader error, perhaps an incorrect order routed through one of the nation’s exchanges. Many of those trades may be reversed so investors do not lose money on questionable transactions. But the speed and scale of the plunge — the largest intraday decline on record — seemed to feed fears that the financial troubles gripping Europe were at last reaching across the Atlantic.
Amid the rout, new signs of stress emerged in the credit markets. European banks seemed to be growing wary of lending to each other, suggesting the debt crisis was entering a more dangerous phase. Traders and Washington policy makers struggled to keep up as the Dow Jones industrial average fell 1,000 points shortly after 2:30 p.m. and then mostly rebounded in a matter of minutes. Two British Bank Chiefs Voice Concern on Greece. US cost of debt falls as eurozone woes continue | Money Supply |