European shares fall to 8-month low

Source:businessweek.com

European shares fell to a low level of concern for more than eight months ago that the regions governments a common position on how the debt crisis to solve.Asian stocks fell for a sixth day and future United States Index dropped.

TrygVesta A/S, the Nordic region’s second-largest property and casualty insurer, tumbled 8.7 percent after reporting a surprise first-quarter loss. Lanxess AG and K+S AG slid more than 3 percent as analysts downgraded the shares. The VStoxx Index, which measures the cost of protecting against declines in the Euro Stoxx 50 Index, jumped 9.4 percent to 54.56, on course for the highest close in 16 months.

The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 2.7 percent to 231.88 at 12:48 p.m. in London, the lowest level since September, after the U.S. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index yesterday plunged the most in 14 months. The Stoxx 600 has slumped 6.6 percent this week, on course for the fifth weekly decline in six, amid concern that Europe’s debt crisis will hurt the economic recovery.