Europe losses accelerate; Germany's DAX 30 off nearly 4%, leading regional decliners

By Barbara Kollmeyer

European stock markets tumbled on Tuesday as panic selling swept across Tokyo after another explosion at a troubled nuclear plant and comments from Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan about radiation leaks.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index (ST:STOXX600 265.33, -7.18, -2.64%)  fell 1.8% to 267.60 in early trading, with losses widespread across the financial, oil, mining and utility sectors.

In Paris, French nuclear engineering group Areva SA (FR:CEI 28.82, -2.69, -8.54%)  fell 7.1%. German utility E.On AG (DE:EOAN 21.02, -0.64, -2.93%)  dropped 3.8%, the biggest loser on the German DAX 30 index (DX:DAX 6,621, -245.79, -3.58%) , which was off 2.6%.

In Japan, after plunging 14% at one point, the Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NI225 8,605, -1,015, -10.55%)  finished 10.6% lower, its biggest decline since 2008. The latest sell-off, came after an explosion Tuesday at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi plant’s No. 2 reactor, on top of previous explosions at No. 1 and No. 3 reactors.

Prime Minister Kan said “substantial amounts of radiation are leaking in the area.”

Among other indexes in Europe, France’s CAC 40 index (FR:PX1 3,773, -104.70, -2.70%)  fell 2.2% to 3,792.02, with utility Electricite de France SA (FR:EDF 27.85, -1.12, -3.87%)  down 3.2%.

Luxury-goods makers, which have a sizeable clientele in Japan, continued to tumble. LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA (FR:MC 101.05, -5.45, -5.11%)  sank 3.2%.

Shares of U.K. luxury-goods firm Burberry Group PLC (UK:BRBY 1,052, -70.00, -6.23%)  fell 4.1%, helping to drag the FTSE 100 index (UK:UKX 5,654, -120.94, -2.09%)  down 1.2%. Miners also fell across the board, with Fresnillo PLC (UK:FRES 1,415, -84.00, -5.60%)  off 3.4% and Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. PLC (UK:ENRC 849.50, -54.50, -6.03%)  down 4%.

U.S. stock futures were pointing to a sharply lower open as well, with futures for

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