This Portuguese Bank Stock Is Crashing And Its Leading Markets Into The Red

The parent company of Banco Espirito Santo, Portugal's second-largest bank, missed debt payments to "a few clients," according to a Bloomberg report, and markets are freaking out.

Shares of Banco Espirito Santo trading in Lisbon were down more than 17% on Thursday.

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The Portuguese stock market was also down about 4% after the news. Stocks across Europe were also broadly lower. In the U.S., stock futures are also lower.

Citing a statement from Espirito Santo, Bloomberg reported that Espirito is "currently assessing the financial impact of its exposure.

REUTERS/Rafael MarchanteA man has his shoes shined near an office of Portuguese bank Banco Espirito Santo in Lisbon June 20, 2014.

Yesterday, Moody's downgraded the debt ratings of Espirito Santo Financial Group, which is the largest shareholder of Espirito Santo International, according to Bloomberg, with Moody's saying its, "concerns regarding ESFG's creditworthiness are heightened by the lack of transparency around both the Espirito Santo Group's financial position and the extent of intra-group linkages including ESFG's direct and indirect exposure to ESI."

Uncertainty also seems to have reached the Spanish banking sector as well. According to reports from both Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal, Banco Popular Espanol postponed a planned debt sale, citing adverse market conditions.

Shares of Banco Popular trading in Madrid were down more than 4%.

The news has also spooked investors who are concerned about how uncertainty in the Spanish and Portuguese financial sectors could impact assets across the Eurozone.

Bloomberg cited comments from Adrian Miller, director of fixed-income strategy at GMP Securities, who said in a note to clients, "Should the Portuguese situation continue to deteriorate, risk aversion contagion could quickly spread to other euro zone member states' bonds and other asset classes."

The news of missed debt payments by Espirito Santo International also comes on the heels of discouraging economic data out of the Eurozone.

Earlier today, inflation data out of France showed that its economy is teetering. Industrial production fell 3.7% in May and with consumer prices rising just 0.5% in June, concerns about deflation risks in France are increasing.

Industrial production data out of Italy also disappointed, with production falling 1.2% in May.

The Eurozone's recovery from the sovereign debt crisis has been about improving situations in the economic bloc's peripheral economies like Italy and Portugal, and this new batch of uncertainty in Portugal's financial sector is not sitting well with investors.