European stocks sank for a fifth day in a row on Tuesday, extending the market's worst sell-off in six months

European stocks sank for a fifth day in a row on Tuesday, extending the market's worst sell-off in six months, with banks taking a beating and miners retreating along with metals on worries over tightening in China.Investors were also rattled by data showing Britain crept out of recession in the fourth quarter of 2009 but only just and with a far weaker growth rate than expected.Britain's Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday gross domestic product rose by 0.1 percent between October and December, well below analysts' forecasts for growth of 0.4 percent after an 18-month recession which wiped out 6.0 percent of output. [ID:nLDE60P0WS]
At 1244 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was down 0.35 percent at 1,015.10 points, after dropping to as low as 1,008.01, a level not seen since Dec 11.Europe's benchmark index, which gained 26 percent in 2009, is now down 3.1 percent this year."Obama's plan on the banking sector caught investors off guard, and the sell-off has been surprisingly violent but the morale is still good, there hasn't been a real change in sentiment," said David Thebault, head of quantitative sales trading, at Global Equities in Paris.
"We might go down another 2-3 percent on the downside. At that point, there will be good buying opportunities, particularly for institutional investors although these guys have been frightened by the recent spike in volatility."

Banking stocks, which were among the top gainers in 2009, have been sharply falling since the White House shocked the market with a plan to curb risk-taking by financial firms.

Posted in: Banking stocks,have been sharply falling since the White House shocked the market with a plan to curb risk-taking by financial firms.,which were among the top gainers in 2009