European markets continue global sell-off

European shares have opened lower, following falls in the US and Asia, as concerns grow about the state of the global economy.

London was down 1.6% and Frankfurt and Paris both down 1.7% in early trading.
In New York, the Dow Jones closed down 2.2% after official figures showed a fall in US consumer spending for the first time in nearly two years.
Asian markets followed suit, with the Nikkei closing down 2.1% and the Hang Seng down 1.1%.
Oil prices also fell in Asian trade, with US light sweet crude for September delivery easing 49 cents to $93.30 a barrel and Brent crude for September delivery dropping 65 cents to $115.81.
Shifting worries US lawmakers managed to avoid a debt default on Tuesday by raising the debt ceiling. However, analysts say there has been a sharp change in global focus from the US debt issues.
"I think the conditions have completely changed this week," said Koichi Ono from Daiwa Securities Capital Markets in Tokyo.
"Until last week, people have been saying the US debt ceiling was the problem. Now they talk about worries about the health of the economy."

Justin Gallagher RBS

This was underscored by official data which came out on Tuesday showing a fall in US consumer spending for the first time in nearly two years.

The figures also showed that incomes had barely risen, indicating that the economy was stalling in the first half of this year.
"There certainly have been weaker numbers globally, particularly out of the US," said Greg Gibbs from RBS in Sydney.
"There is already a high level of uncertainty in global markets and that's another layer which is impacting on sentiment."
Euro pressures And it is not just the US dragging down markets, say analysts.
Just as the US debt crisis seems to be subsiding, the European crisis has come back into focus.
Spain and Italy are under renewed pressure because of concerns that the eurozone bailout fund is not enough to protect their larger economies if they can no longer pay their debts.
Bond yields, or the interest countries pay on their loans, have risen sharply in recent days.
"It's a pretty bleak picture," said Justin Gallagher of RBS in Sydney.
"The implications for the Italian market and economy going through something similar to Greece is pretty frightening. People are suggesting it's not bailout-able. That's how big it is."

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