Bund futures hit new record highs, stocks fall

LONDON: German Bund futures hit new record highs and European stocks extended losses on Thursday, with traders citing talk of possible credit ratings downgrades for Spanish banks circulating in the market.

"We've got some talk of downgrades in Spain and we are still in the same old negative mood because of Greece," one trader said.

Bund futures were last 143.79, up 61 ticks on the day. Spain's Ibex 35 and the pan-European FTS Euro first 300 index hit session lows and were now trading 2.4 percent and 1.3 percent lower, respectively.