Eurozone banks sank 5.5% as the central bank said it would pay more for banks to borrow from it but otherwise kept much of its remaining policy powder dry.

The banking sector also came under pressure from a 8.6% decline in France's Societe Generale as it reported a quarterly loss, while Britain's Lloyds Banking Group became the latest to be hit by provisions against expected bad loans due to the pandemic.

Along with a slide in energy stocks as oil major Royal Dutch Shell slumped 10.8% on cutting its dividend for the first time in 80 years, London's FTSE dived 3.5%. The index logged its steepest one-day loss in one month.

The wider oil & gas sector fell 3.4%. The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 2% after a three-day rally, while euro zone stocks were down 1.9%.

Copyright Reuters, 2020