Bank shares suffer as European indices slide 2%

European financials are among the day's biggest fallers as benchmark French and German indices struggle amid intensifying geopolitical concerns.

The German Dax and French CAC40 were down by more than 2% apiece this afternoon as investors digested the prospect of possible Western military action in Syria. Financials bore the brunt of the selling, with Germany's Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank down 4.8% and 3.6% respectively to push European indices to one-month lows. That was followed by the S&P 500 opening down 0.8% in the US at 1,642, within touching distance of a seven-week low. In the UK, the FTSE 100 made back some of its earlier losses to stand 0.6% lower at 6,453 by mid-afternoon. But benchmark bond yields fell back ...