LONDON (AP) -- Stocks plummeted in Europe on Thursday after a series of rush-hour explosions in London's subway system and aboard the city's famed double-decker buses. Insurance and travel stocks fell sharply, and the British pound sank.
The London Stock Exchange remained open after the explosions but its key index, the FTSE 100, dropped 4 percent, or 207.54 points, to 5,022.10 by early afternoon. Germany's DAX index fell 3 percent to 4,474.35. In Paris, the CAC 40 dropped 3.5 percent. Exchanges elsewhere in Europe were also down.
U.S. stocks also fell in premarket trading following the news. Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 135 points, while S&P futures fell 17 points and Nasdaq futures fell 27 points.
Near simultaneous explosions rocked the London subway and three double-decker buses at the morning rush hour, police and news reports said. Authorities said the six blasts caused at least two deaths and nine injuries. Police said they were concerned it was a coordinated attack.
''Just as it is reasonably clear that this is a terrorist attack or a series of terrorist attacks, it's also reasonably clear that it is designed and aimed to coincide with the opening of the G-8,'' British Prime Minister Tony Blair told reporters at the summit of the G-8 countries in Gleneagles, Scotland.
Lorenzo Codogno, co-head of European economics with Bank of America in London, said traders were glued to TV screens watching details of the blasts, and gleaning whatever information they could get.
Swiss bank UBS said it had evacuated its offices at 100 Liverpool Street, which is close to where one of the explosions occurred.
Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank said staff had been advised to remain within their office buildings and cancel any external appointments, in compliance with a police advisory to all companies across London's financial district. But business continued as usual, Commerzbank spokeswoman Margarita Thiel said.
In London trading, hotels group Hilton fell 7 percent to 277.50 pence ($4.87) as traders feared a downturn in the industry. British Airways fell 6 percent to 256 pence ($4.49). DAX losses were led by tour operator TUI, whose shares fell 6.2 percent to 19.78 euros ($23.60).
Shares in Munich Re, the world's biggest reinsurer, fell 4.2 percent to 85.35 euros ($101.83), while insurer Allianz dropped 3.7 percent to 94.20 euros ($112.39).
Lufthansa, Germany's biggest airline, saw its stock fall 3.4 percent to 9.83 euros ($11.73). Travel-related companies such as Lufthansa and TUI suffered losses from the fall in air travel after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States.
Shares in Swiss Re fell 4.1 percent to 76.6 Swiss francs ($58.81). The company said it had substantially reduced its exposure to terrorism since the Sept. 11 attacks but was still assessing the possible effects of Thursday's events.
Mark Austin of HSBC in London said the market reaction was typical.
''Unfortunately, rather like Sept. 11, 2001, the market's reaction is to draw back,'' he said from his offices in London. ''The inevitable response - bonds up, equities down. The sterling, obviously, is going down, while the Swiss franc and euro are going up. I suspect that we'll be in that mode for quite some time.''
The British pound fell Thursday to $1.7443 from $1.7567 late Wednesday. The currency had already been under pressure amid speculation the Bank of England may cut rates from 4.75 percent.
Gold, traditionally seen as a safe haven, rose. Gold traded in London at $427.85 bid per troy ounce, up from $423.60 on Wednesday. In Zurich the bid price was $427.80, up from $423.50.
In Frankfurt, the Governing Council of the European Central Bank began its monthly meeting to decide whether it would change its interest rate, currently at 2 percent.
