European stocks got smashed

Markets were a sea of red on Wednesday. Most of the major European indices got a hammering.

The UK's FTSE 100 fell 1.60% to 5,867.18 points. The Dax plunged 2.65%, while the Eurostoxx 50, a benchmark of Europe's leading companies, fell 2.49%.

Standard Chartered was one of the worst performers on the UK index, down more than 4%, after suffering downgrades from analysts after reporting a surprise full year loss on Tuesday.

US markets didn't fare much better. In early trading on Wednesday the Dow was down about 230 points, the S&P 500 was down 25, and the Nasdaq was off 64.

The pound continued its fall against the dollar, going below $1.39 for the first time since 2009 before recovering slightly.

Here's the FTSE:

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And here's the pound:

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