European equities down at the open with bank stocks lower

• Eurostoxx -0.4%
• Germany DAX -0.4%
• France CAC 40 -0.3%
• Spain IBEX -0.8%
• Spain IBEX -0.6%

It's a volatile start to the session as bank stocks are pressured lower with BNP down 5%, SocGen down over 4% and CA down over 2% at the moment. Credit Suisse is down over 60% and if that holds, is set for its biggest daily drop on record. In the US pre-market, JP Morgan is down roughly 1.5% while Citi and BofA are down a little over 1% currently.

That said, US futures have pared some losses from earlier with S&P 500 futures Futures Futures or a futures contract represents a legal agreement to buy or sell a security or asset at a predetermined price at a specified time in the future. Of note, the parties are not known to each other.These transactions usually involve commodities or other securities involving the buying and selling for a forward or predetermined price.Futures also adhere to a delivery date, which specifies the date of delivery and payment. Relative to other forms of investing futures are much more complex, as Futures or a futures contract represents a legal agreement to buy or sell a security or asset at a predetermined price at a specified time in the future. Of note, the parties are not known to each other.These transactions usually involve commodities or other securities involving the buying and selling for a forward or predetermined price.Futures also adhere to a delivery date, which specifies the date of delivery and payment. Relative to other forms of investing futures are much more complex, as Read this Term now down 18 points, or 0.5%, after having been down by as much as 38 points earlier. However, sentiment is still balanced on a knife's edge right now so expect more swings in the market in the hours ahead.