European shares hit by global slowdown fears

European stock markets extended their losing streak on Thursday, with benchmark indexes in Frankfurt and London hitting seven-month lows as fears of a global slowdown took hold. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 equity index was down 0.5 per cent at 0810 GMT, at 1,498.80 points. The index's losses for August have already matched those for June, which itself was the worst month in two years for the FTSEurofirst. The export-focused German DAX index underperformed the region. Shares of automotive supplier Continental fell 1.8 per cent after profit declined at family-owned Schaeffler AG, the biggest shareholder in Continental, and autos stocks fell. London's stock market got a boost from the tumble in the Kazakh tenge currency, sending shares in Kaz Minerals up 20 per cent thanks to an effective drop in running costs for a business selling US dollar-denominated commodities, according to Reuters.

-Shuvo-