European stock markets sank at the open on Thursday, extending the previous day's heavy losses as a global sell-off gathered speed.
In early trade, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index lost 0.9% at 6 508.14 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 shed about 1.0% to 13 489.33 and the Paris CAC 40 declined 0.8% to 5 416.33.
Asia suffered further losses Thursday, tracking the rout in New York and Europe as investors weathered a perfect storm of worries about the slow vaccine rollout, surging infections, a stuttering economic recovery and high valuations.
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