- Stocks in Italy lead European shares lower after some of the country's banks came out badly in ECB stress tests.
- Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena collapses 17.55% after being told that it needs to raise €2.11B. The world's oldest bank is exploring its strategic options.
- And while the tests were otherwise not as bad as expected, the STOXX Europe 600 Banks index is -1.2%. "The stress test results are positive, but the real test will be on European bank lending and on this the jury is still out,” says strategist Luca Paolini.
- KPMG believes banks still face a significant challenge. "The sector remains chronically unprofitable and must address their €879B exposure to non-performing loans as this will tie-up significant amounts of capital," KPMG says.
- Euro STOXX 600 -1.2%, London -0.8%, Paris -0.4%, Frankfurt -0.5%, Milan -2.2%, Spain -1.4%.
- ETFs: VGK, FEZ, IEV, HEDJ, EPV, EZU, EUFN, FEU, GUR, FEP, ESR, UPV, ADRU, EURL, FEEU, EURZ, DBEU, IEUR, FIEU, HEZU, FEUZ, ESTX