Stocks Decline, Led by Citigroup, GM; Gold, Treasuries Gain (Sarah Jones)

 Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Stocks slumped from Tokyo to London and New York as growing signs of a deepening recession sent the MSCI World Index lower for a sixth day. Gold climbed to a seven- month high, while Treasuries gained.

  Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. lost at least 6.9 percent as U.S. markets opened after a three-day weekend. Swedbank AB and UniCredit SpA declined more than 5 percent and the euro fell below $1.26 for the first time since early December after Moody’s Investors Service said it may downgrade banks with units in eastern Europe. General Motors Corp. retreated 9.2 percent before taking its case for more government support to the U.S. Treasury.

  “A wave of disappointing corporate results and weakening economic data” is battering markets, said Henk Potts, a London- based fund manager at Barclays Stockbrokers, which has about $45 billion under management. The fallout from the financial crisis “is filtering through to more and more economies,” he said.

  The MSCI World Index decreased 3.6 percent to 801.02 at 4:04 p.m. in London, extending its 2009 retreat to 13 percent. The gauge of 23 developed markets has dropped for six straight days as companies from Electricite de France SA to Diageo Plc posted disappointing results and U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner failed to convince investors his bank rescue will work.

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