UPDATE 2-Europe stocks down with selling fever, end at near seven-month lows

* Oil and gas stocks lead losses as weak prices bite
* Bank stocks worst weekly performers
* Several regional subindexes firmly in bear market
* STOXX 600 clocks third weekly decline

(Updates to close)
By Ambar Warrick and Sruthi Shankar
March 6 (Reuters) - European shares plummeted on Friday amid
widespread fears of the coronavirus hampering business activity,
with oil and gas stocks bearing the brunt of losses after steep
declines in crude prices.
The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX closed 3.7% down to its
weakest point since mid-August 2019, ending red for the third
straight week after global coronavirus cases surpassed 100,000,
with the economic damage deepening as more countries imposed
restrictions to curb its spread.
While the STOXX 600 had briefly gained this week following
an emergency rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve, concerns over
the virus' impact swiftly shunted markets lower.
"The issue that people have in situations like this is that
it's very difficult to know when the bottom's going to arrive,"
said Craig Erlam, Senior Market Analyst at Oanda in London.
"The worst is not yet behind us because it still feels like
we're in the early spread phase in many countries. If we're
seeing policymakers providing stimulus, it suggests that even
they believe there could be some significant damage."
Oil and gas stocks .SXEP ended more than 5% lower for the
day, seeing their worst day in more than three years as oil
prices plunged to their lowest since 2017 after Russia rejected
a steep OPEC output cut. Crude prices were already pressured by
concerns over waning global demand. O/R
London-listed Tullow Oil PLC TLW.L was the worst performer
on the subindex, losing about 15%.
The banks index .SX7P underperformed its peers for the
week, shedding about 8.8%. The index touched its lowest point
since 2009 amid a flurry of virus-related disruptions and
sinking bond yields.
Deutsche Bank DBKGn.DE fell 3.8% and Commerzbank CBKG.DE
slid 7.2% as the flight to safety pushed Germany's benchmark
10-year Bund yield to record lows. GVD/EUR
Planemaker Airbus AIR.PA dived 7.6% as it failed to win
any new aircraft orders in February - further evidence of
disruption across aviation industries due to the spread of
coronavirus. Several regional subindexes were trading in bear market
territory.
Investors have almost fully priced in a 10 basis points cut
by the European Central Bank next week. However, a recent
Reuters poll of economists showed the ECB will not cut rates,
underscoring the central bank's limited policy options, given
its deposit rate is already at a negative 0.50%. Infineon Technologies AG IFXGn.DE fell 5.5% after reports
that U.S. officials recommended blocking the German chipmaker' s
proposed $10 billion deal to buy Cypress Semiconductor Corp
CY.O on security risks. Among the few gainers, carmaker Continental AG CONG.DE and
airline Air France AIRF.PA both marked modest gains for the
day as they recovered from multi-year lows.