//
According to Reuters, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 was down 1.6 per cent at 09:13 BST, taking it to 1,051.92 points, a low not seen since mid-March.
There were falls of between 0.8 per cent and 7.2 per cent for Barclays, Lloyds, Credit Agricole, Societe Generale, BNP Paribas and Royal Bank of Scotland.
Financial stocks continue to be affected by the downgrading of Greek and Portuguese debt yesterday, which resulted in stock markets falling around the world.
On Tuesday, the FTSEurofirst 300 ended the day down 3.1 per cent.
In London, the FTSE 100 dropped 2.6 per cent, its biggest one-day fall in five months.
In trading this morning, it was 0.48 per cent lower at 5,555.42 by 09:51 BST, with Royal Bank of Scotland, Centrica, Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group among the biggest fallers.
Posted by Greg Secker
