About those stock markets...

It was a punishing Friday on Asian and European stock markets following yesterday's whipsaw session on Wall Street, where $1 trillion of market value was temporarily wiped out.

Yes, that's trillion with a T.

The MSCI World Index (a collection of the world's biggest stock markets) lost nearly one percent. It's down 11 percent since April 15.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index (yes, a collection of stock markets in emerging markets) fell almost two percent.

Japan's Nikkei — Asia's biggest market — slid 3.1 percent.

The European debt crisis, and whether it will spread, is again the main concern of global investors. European leaders are gathering today in Brussels in an attempt to soothe panicky markets.

Here's a quick round-up of what market analysts around the world are saying:

“Anxiety is getting worse,” Bob Parker, a London-based adviser to Credit Suisse Asset Management told Bloomberg TV. “Markets are highly concerned about the contagion effect. There’s been nothing to calm market fears.”

“Nerves are frayed,” Prasad Patkar of Sydney's Platypus Asset Management told Bloomberg. “After the global financial crisis, it’s not irrational for investors to shoot first and ask questions later. We need the ECB to come out decisively and put a stop to this before things spin out of control.”

“It’s time for the EU to commit to helping other European countries that get into trouble and for the ECB to acknowledge the problem and provide more liquidity,” said Shane Oliver (also to Bloomberg), Sydney-based head of investment strategy at AMP Capital Investors. “Markets are looking for more confidence that Spain and Portugal will be supported. The problem is it’s hard to see what the end solution is.”

"[The fall] means that market sentiment is still weak and that investors are concerned about the situation in the European Union. There still might be some selling pressure ahead, depending on further developments in the E.U. and the situation after elections in the U.K.," Conita Hung, head of equity markets at Delta Asia Financial Markets told the Wall Street Journal.

"In our view, the lack of a clear 'end game' for sovereign risk in Europe means that despite recent sharp declines in markets, this is not a buying opportunity. Positions may still be unwound," UBS analysts wrote in a note to clients.

Another piece of data to pay attention to this morning will be the U.S. unemployment figures for April. Most economists are expecting the world's largest economy to add 200,000 jobs, with the U.S. jobless rate remaining at an uncomfortably high 9.7 percent for a fourth straight month

Happy Friday.

http://www.globalpost.com/notebook/global-markets-european-debt-crisis