* FTSEurofirst ends down 3.8 percent at 781.06 points
* Oils, bank stocks lead decline
* Wall St slides on Citigroup, poor data, grim autos outlook
By Rebekah Curtis
LONDON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - European stocks slid 3.8 percent
on Thursday as oil at $50 whipped energy shares and a fresh
20-percent slide in Citigroup <C.N> on Wall Street rattled
banks.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top European shares
closed at 781.06 points, its lowest close since April 2003.
European shares have shed more than 48 percent so far this
year, beaten down by financial crisis and recession in the
world's major economies.
European banks lost ground after Citigroup shares tumbled
more than 20 percent as investors questioned the U.S. bank's
survival prospects.
In Europe, Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX> fell nearly 10 percent,
Dutch financial group ING <ING.AS> lost 8.9 percent, Germany's
Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE> dropped 9.4 percent and Spain's Banco
Santander <SAN.MC> ended 5.6 percent lower.
"It's going to be a fairly bumpy road until the year end,"
said Franz Wenzel, strategist at AXA Investment Managers in
Paris.
"Emerging markets are falling apart, nobody knows when the
currency bleeding is going to stop. There is hardly any ray of
hope on the horizon...Equity-wise, we're in a dire environment."
But Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> swam against the tide,
rising 8.8 percent as shareholders met to approve a fundraising
plan.
Among top gainers, Ahold <AHLN.AS> shares leapt 8.9 percent
after the Dutch supermarket group reported a
higher-than-expected 11 percent rise in core quarterly profit
and reiterated its full-year margin target.
OIL SKIDS
Fears that recession will dent demand for oil saw the price
of crude <CLc1> fall about 5 percent, hitting sector stocks such
as OMV <OMVV.VI>, down 7.8 percent, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>,
down 5.4 percent and Petroplus <PPHN.VX>, down 14.8 percent.
Around Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <> lost 3.3 percent,
Germany's CAC <> dropped 3.1 percent and France's CAC
<> lost 3.5 percent.
The Swiss National Bank made a surprise full percentage
point cut in interest rates on Thursday, a third reduction in
quick succession aimed at stopping the economy sliding into
recession as the global outlook worsens.
Major U.S. stock indexes slid in choppy trade percent, with
the benchmark S&P 500 index <.SPX> hitting its lowest in more
than six years as data showed the U.S. economy sinking more and
investors worried about possible failures by U.S. automakers
without a government bailout.
U.S. government data showed that the number of U.S. workers
filing new claims for jobless benefits hit their highest level
in 16 years in the recent week.
Among European auto stocks, carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen
<PEUP.PA> was down 4 percent after unveiling plans to cut 2,700
jobs and saying that due to the financial crisis and the
sector's turmoil, car sales volume in main European markets
would drop by at least 10 percent in 2009 and 17 percent in the
fourth quarter.
Renault <RENA.PA> shares fell 6.3 percent and Porsche
<PSHG_p.DE> lost 5.6 percent.
Belgian metals and specialty materials maker Umicore
<UMI.BR>, a leading manufacturer of catalysts for cars, was down
14.5 percent after a profit warning linked to the weak auto
market.
Insurers also fell heavily. Britain's Aviva <AV.L> lost 16.8
percent, French AXA <AXAF.PA> lost 7.4 percent and Swiss Life
<SLHN.VX> dropped 10.6 percent.
(Additional reporting by Peter Starck in Frankfurt; Editing by
David Cowell)
