The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that Canadian bank stocks were down more than 3.5 per cent on Tuesday, marking the biggest decline for the group since August, 2009. The Globe's David Berman writes that stocks recovered some lost ground later in the day, but over all, Canadian bank stocks are off 7 per cent this year. Tuesday's downturn suggests investors are starting to lump the big banks together with their global peers. "It's hard to separate the global story from the Canada-only story right now," said Peter Routledge at National Bank. European stocks fell 1.8 per cent and Japanese stocks fell 5.4 per cent; the Toronto Stock Exchange tumbled 2 per cent. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond continued its descent, falling to a one-year low of 1.73 per cent. That is down sharply from a 2.3-per-cent yield at the start of the year, suggesting little confidence in the Fed's goal of raising interest rates, or the health of the economy. Among commodities, crude oil tumbled 7 per cent, nearing the 12-year low it touched in January. For Canadian banks, concerns include a weak domestic economy, indebted consumers, a precarious housing market and the depressed energy sector.