By 12.30pm, the FTSE 100 was down 0.9pc, the Cac had fallen 1pc, and the Dax in Germany had slid 0.7pc. Equities in the eurozone periphery were even more gloomy, with Spain's Ibex down 1.4pc and Italy's Mib dropping 1.7pc. The Athens Stock Exchange took the worst hammering, tumbling as much as 4.4pc.