European markets slide after German ban on short-selling
European markets fell late Thursday morning over fears that other EU countries may follow suit on Germany's short-selling ban.
Thanassis Stavrakis/AP
London
European stocks fell late on Thursday morning on persistent concerns that other European countries may follow Germany's footsteps to ban short-selling in some financial instruments, traders said.
"There is a rumour of the short selling ban being extended in the euro zone," a trader said.
However, French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde confirmed earlier that France would not be following a German move to ban the naked short-selling of sovereign debt.
German government bonds turned positive as stocks fell, with the June Bund futures FGBLc1 up 9 ticks on the day at 127.56, while cash yields fell.
At 1054 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was down 0.6 percent at 990.81 points.
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