Spanish stocks lose more than 3.0pc to below 6,000 points

MADRID: Spanish stocks took a nosedive on Tuesday, losing more than 3.0 percent to fall below the 6,000 point threshold as investors worried whether the country needs an international debt bailout.

The Ibex-35 index of leading Spanish shares fell to 5,987.1 points in afternoon trading, a drop of 3.08 percent to a level last seen in April 2003, as Catalonia, the second biggest Spanish region, seemed set to ask for federal funds, compounding the central government's finance problems.