New credit crisis fears haunt European, Asian stock markets

LONDON (AFP) — European and Asian stocks dropped sharply Tuesday as concern about the credit crunch again spooked investors, but US markets showed some resilience to the prevailing mood of fear.

In London, the FTSE 100 index lost 1.31 percent to end at 5,440.50 points, in Paris the CAC 40 was down 1.54 percent to 4,275.61 points while in Frankfurt the Dax lost 1.43 percent to finish at 6,304.41.

Dealers said concerns about the US banks in particular unsettled investors, setting up Asia and Europe for a bad day that left most exchanges down 20 percent or more from their highs in 2007 -- the definition of a "bear market."

"Today's fall (in the FTSE) marks a full entry into bear market territory, even though most investors will have been feeling that this has been here already for some months," said Richard ...