Bank worries hit world markets

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Asian stocks dropped for a second day on Tuesday and Japanese shares hit a one-month low, with investors fretting about the potential economic fallout if the swine virus outbreak becomes a full-fledged pandemic and the results of U.S. bank stress tests.
Futures on the S&P 500 slid 1.5% and sparked further selling across Asia after the Wall Street Journal said that U.S. regulators were pushing Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) and Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) to raise more capital after the initial results of the stress tests.
European stock futures were down between 1.4% and 1.8% before the start of trade.
More countries have reported cases of the flu, and some such as Australia and South Korea were testing for the virus. The World Health Organization raised its alert level to be a step closer to declaring the first flu pandemic in 40 years.