S&P effected as many as 183 downgrades out of the 291 rating actions during the April-June period, which is much higher than 170 such actions in the first quarter.
There were just 108 upgrades during the second quarter which is, however, better than 72 such actions in the first three months of this year.
"Following a rocky first quarter, the credit markets saw a continuation of the violent shakes that have almost become routine since this time last year. Overall, downgrades outnumbered upgrades in the US, Europe, and Asia-Pacific regions while the other developed regions (including Australia, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand) and Eastern Europe/Middle East/Africa (EEMEA) remained relatively benign," the rating agency said in a statement.
Pointing out that US was particularly hard hit with more downgrades, S&P said the scenario reflects the continuations of previous quarter's financial turmoil.
During the second quarter, S&P had downgraded leading auto maker Tata Motors to a higher speculative grade of BB from BB+.
Apart prom the credit crisis the financial turbulence is mainly due to higher energy prices and the risk of recession, the rating agency noted.
