By Wil Longbottom Last updated at 9:07 AM on 13th December 2011 Italian financial market jitters worsened today as workers angry about austerity reforms went on strike and staged nationwide rallies. Fiat's car plants stood idle and a performance at La Scala opera house in Milan was cancelled as unions kicked off the first in days of walkouts and demonstrations against spending cuts and tax increases. Confidence dipped, with Milan's stock index down two per cent and the benchmark 10-year bond yield rising 0.52 of a percentage point to 6.76 per cent. Backlash: Members of the Unione Sindicale di Base occupy the Porta Nuova train station in Torino in protest at austerity measures
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Metalworkers, typographers and staff at La Scala opera among those taking part in rallies against reforms
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Public transport sector expected to go on Thursday
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Italian stock exchange falls 2%, FTSE down 1.47%
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Greece warns talks over second bailout are 'difficult and critical'
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First draft of new eurozone fiscal treaty could be ready by next week
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ECB cuts back purchase of government bonds as it limits support for indebted countries
It comes after @placeholder government figures warned talks with international debt inspectors on a second bailout package were 'difficult and critical'.