European stock markets are moving in the “red”, as concerns about the banking sector in the US affect the climate in Europe.

In particular, the pan-European Stoxx 600 is down 1.65%, with all major indexes and sectors in negative territory. In the rest of the board, the German DAX loses 2.16%, the British FTSE 100 the French also slips 1.59% CAC-40 down by 0.89%. In the periphery, the Spanish IBEX 35 and the Italian FTSE MIB record losses of 4% and 2.35% respectively.

This drop in the indexes is due to the fact that the fallout from the US banking sector is hitting European stocks, with the banking index Stoxx Europe 600 Banks to record losses of 2.8%.

It is noted that in the US, on Thursday, the shares of regional banks and the Jefferies bank recorded heavy losses, as fears of bad loans increased on Wall Street.

The index of US regional banks plunged 6.3% yesterday after announcements from two banks fueled investor concerns about hidden credit risks.

In other banking news, an aggressive takeover bid for Sabadell by Spanish bank BBVA failed on Thursday after it failed to convince shareholders to back its €16.32 million bid.

BBVA shares rose more than 6% as investors reacted to the news, while Sabadell shares lost more than 6%.

Significant losses in the Athens Stock Exchange

Stock prices are under strong pressure at the opening of today’s session and on the Athens Stock Exchange, with the main stock market index falling below the “psychological barrier” of 2,000 units.

The market follows a strong decline in European markets, which as noted above retreat in the wake of yesterday’s negative close on Wall Street, as concerns about the health of US regional banks hit the broader financial sector.

The General Price Index, at 11:00, was moving at 1,974.61 points, marking a strong drop of 1.94%. The value of the transactions amounts to 36.15 million euros.

The large-cap index is down 2.07%, while the mid-cap index is down 1.13%.

Of the high capitalization shares, only the share of Coca Cola HBC (+2.35%) registered an increase.

On the contrary, the largest decline was registered by the shares of Piraeus (-3.41%), Optima Bank (-3.12%), Eurobank (-3.00%), Aktor (-2.98%), Cyprus (-2.82%), Ethniki (-2.71%) and Alpha Bank (-2.47%).

11 stocks move up, 82 down and 6 remain stable.

The largest increase was registered by the shares Ellactor (+6.87%) and SIDMA (+5.65%), while the largest decline was recorded by the shares Ilyda (-4.55%) and Ekter (-4.21%).