Greek referendum: What happens next?

NOTE :

DOW DOWN 11,657.96 (-297.05 OR -2.48%) Tue 4:30pm ET
HSI DOWN 19,369.96 (-494.91 OR -2.49%) Nov 1 - Close

4:30 pm : Revived concerns related to Europe's ability to efficiently and effectively restore financial conditions resulted in another round of aggressive selling.

Stocks extended the prior session's sell-off by suffering another steep slide. Selling pressure was essentially underpinned by the belief that Greece could disrupt the implementation of the eurozone bailout plan by issuing a referendum, although some afternoon headlines suggested that the referendum was unlikely to win support. Selling pressure was exacerbated by dwindling confidence in Italy's financial health, as indicated by a spike in the yields of the country's debt.

Those themes took a heavy toll on Europe's bourses. In turn, the EuroStoxx 50 fell nearly 3%. The euro was also implicated; it tumbled to a 1% loss against the greenback, as of the close of trade.

Diversified bank stocks were some of the hardest hit issues in both Europe and at home. Their weight and their weakness left the overall financial sector to fall almost 5%.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/01/business/greece-referendum-explainer/index.html