LONDON - Europe's stock markets slid again Friday even though German lawmakers approved a massive eurozone rescue package another sign that worries over the continent's debt crisis and the future of the euro currency itself have not gone away. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 101.62 points, or 2 per cent, at 4,971.51 while Germany's DAX tumbled 136.43 points, or 2.3 per cent, to 5,731.45. The CAC-40 in France dropped 86.65 points, or 2.5 per cent, to 3,345.87. No respite is expected when Wall Street opens later Dow futures were down 94 points, or 0.9 per cent, at 9,962 while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 futures fell 10.8 points, or 1 per cent, to 1,059.20. The European debt crisis continues to be the main point of interest in the markets and fears are growing that it may prove to be the catalyst to a renewed downturn in global growth, if not an outright slide back into recession. While many of the world's leading stock markets are below the levels they started the year, oil prices have slid below $70 a barrel amid fears of waning global demand and US Treasury yields remain at 2010 lows. Worries about the debt crisis and the ensuing impact it may have on world growth have not been dampened by the news that Germany's lower house of parliament voted in favor of an EU-led rescue plan, sending it to the upper house, which represents Germany's 16 states and where Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right government currently controls a majority, for a decision later in the day.
