Spain’s Economic Woes Rattle Investors; Europe Markets Slide

A slide in Spanish stocks and bonds deepened as investors’ concerns that Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy may require international aid rattled markets.

Spain, the euro region’s fourth-largest economy, is in “extreme difficulty,” Rajoy said yesterday, raising the likelihood of a bailout for the second time this week. The Ibex stock index slid 0.7 percent in Madrid today. The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index extended its biggest retreat in four weeks and the MSCI Emerging Markets Index slipped 0.3 percent to 1,034.65 as of 3:14 p.m. in Madrid.