ROME: European stocks fell the most since March, extending their first weekly drop in three, as banks led losses.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid 1.3 percent to 405.43 at 12:16 p.m. in London. The gauge slumped, along with China’s equity-index futures, after regulators in the world’s second-biggest economy clamped down on the use of shadow financing to buy stocks and expanded the supply of shares available for short sellers.
Investors are also watching developments in Greece after International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde warned that she wouldn’t let the country miss a debt payment.
Stocks are falling after rallying to a fresh peak Wednesday, down 1.8 percent for the week. The Stoxx 600 has climbed 18 percent this year amid quantitative-easing measures by the European Central Bank. That has pushed the gauge to its highest level relative to the projected profit of its members in at least a decade, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
