The OMXS index fell to close 2.4 percent down despite a strong start to the morning’s trading and bringing the total fall for the past ten days to more than 10 percent.

Tuesday’s stock market relief, which also set the tone for much of Wednesday, was swept away entirely when the US stock markets opened to sharply falling prices.

The main underlying factor on Wednesday was the prospect of an imminent downgrade of France’s credit rating.

London’s FTSE-100 index fell 3 percent to 5,007 points, the Paris CAC-40 plunged 5.45 percent to 3,003 points, and the Frankfurt DAX dived 5.13 percent to 5,613 points.

Italy’s stock market recorded its worst performance since April 2009 at the height of the global economic crisis amid renewed concerns over the eurozone debt crisis, closed 6.65 percent lower on Wednesday.

Among the more high profile victims was the Bank of America which fell nearly eleven percent by the time the Swedish stock market closed. Behind the nosedive was a lowered recommendation from S & P Equity.

At the same time dropped the Dow Jones fell to close 4.6 percent and the Nasdaq New York Stock Exchange 3.4 percent and the Nasdaq Composite was down 4.09 percent.

Swedish bank stock was at the forefront of the decline with the sector falling 3.4 percent by closing.

Manufacturing shares were also hit hard with Sandvik down 4.7 percent and SKF declining 4.8 percent.

Analysts argued that traders were looking for a reason to sell on Wednesday and the parlous state of French public finances was the latest available piece of dire news, enough to encourage nervous markets to run for cover.