(Updates prices to close of European markets)
* S&P financial index falls more than 3 pct
* Cost of insuring European financials' debt surges
* Oil prices fall, Chesapeake shares plunge
* 10-year Treasury yield hits 1-year low
* Spot gold hits highest level since June
By Sam Forgione
NEW YORK, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Stock indexes worldwide tumbled
on Monday, led by banking stocks in Europe and technology stocks
on Wall Street on persisting fears of a global economic
slowdown, while benchmark 10-year Treasury yields hit their
lowest in a year on demand for assets deemed less risky.
European shares extended the previous week's big losses,
with the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top regional shares
closing at its lowest level since Oct. 2013.
The STOXX Europe 600 banking index .SX7P fell 5.6 percent,
making it the top sectoral decliner. The index has lost more
than 24 percent this year on concerns about banks' profitability
and capital strength in an environment where monetary stimulus
continues to put pressure on margins.
Wall Street continued Friday's technology-led selloff, with
the benchmark S&P 500 stock index .SPX falling as much as 2.5
percent. The S&P financial index .SPSY fell more than 3
percent, with Bank of America (N:BAC) BAC.N , JPMorgan (N:JPM) JPM.N and
Citigroup (N:C) C.N dragging down the index.
The cost of insuring the European financial sector's senior
debt against default also climbed to its highest level since
late 2013.
U.S. crude prices fell after a meeting between Saudi Arabia
and Venezuela failed to reassure investors of measures to
bolster sagging prices.
Chesapeake CHK.N tumbled 34 percent after sources told
Reuters that the natgas company had tapped existing adviser
Kirkland & Ellis to explore restructuring options. Earlier, the
stock halved before being halted.
"We need oil to stabilize to provide some confidence for
investors, partly because to a degree, investors' stress is
high, earnings visibility is low, and market internals continue
to weaken," said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S.
Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis.
Brent crude LCOc1 was last down 58 cents, or 1.7 percent,
at $33.48 a barrel. U.S. crude CLc1 was last down 71 cents, or
2.3 percent, at $30.18 per barrel.
MSCI's all-country world equity index .MIWD00000PUS was
last down 6.72 points or 1.83 percent, at 359.85.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was last down 393.92
points, or 2.43 percent, at 15,811.05. The S&P 500 .SPX was
down 49.04 points, or 2.61 percent, at 1,831.01. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 140.09 points, or 3.21 percent, at
4,223.05.
Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 closed 3.38
percent lower at 1,239.73.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields reached a one-year low of
1.7350 percent US10YT=RR , as the stock market decline and
concerns about slowing global growth increased investor appetite
for safe-haven government debt.
U.S. 10-year Treasury notes were last up 30/32 in price to
yield 1.7431, from a yield of 1.848 percent late Friday.
"Weakness in global equities is adding pressure on
Treasuries," said Ian Lyngen, senior government bond strategist
at CRT Capital in Stamford, Connecticut, in reference to yields.
The dollar fell to its lowest level against the yen since
Nov. 2014 of 115.170 yen JPY=EBS , partly on doubts about the
effectiveness of the Bank of Japan's negative interest rate
policy.
Safe-haven spot gold XAU= reached a peak of $1,200.60 an
ounce, its strongest since June 22.