LIVE MARKETS-Morning call: Set for the worst week since 2008

Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of European equity markets brought to you by Reuters stocks reporters. You can share your thoughts with Thyagaraju Adinarayan (thyagaraju.adinarayan@tr.com), Joice Alves (joice.alves@tr.com) and Julien Ponthus (julien.ponthus@tr.com) in London.

MORNING CALL: SET FOR THE WORST WEEK SINCE 2008 (0625 GMT)

The STOXX 600 is already down 9% this week and given that DAX, STOXX 50 and FTSE futures are already falling about 4%, we're clearly set for the worst week since the financial crisis in 2008.

European bourses are bracing themselves for a brutal session after the S&P 500 experienced its fastest correction in history and the Dow registered a record one-day points drop.

The U.S. fear index, the VIX, has surged close to 40 and its European cousin is currently at its highest level since 2016.

Oil prices are locked in a worrying trend and on track for their biggest weekly decline in more than four years.

To have a look at the latest development of the coronavirus crisis which is causing mayhem on financial markets please click here:

(Julien Ponthus)

***** (Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Joice Alves, Julien Ponthus and Thyagaraju Adinarayan)