LONDON, Sept 30 (Reuters) – European shares fell sharply in early deals on Friday to touch their lowest level in eight weeks as fresh concerns over the stability of Deutsche Bank hit banking stocks.
By 0723 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 1.6 percent, having touched its lowest level since early August, as the STOXX Europe Banks index fell 3 percent, the biggest sectoral faller. No sector was in positive territory.
Deutsche Bank fell nearly 9 percent to below 10 euros for the first time ever after Bloomberg reported that some hedge funds that clear derivatives trades with the bank had withdrawn some excess cash, a sign that counterparties are wary of doing business with it.
In a statement on Friday, Deutsche reiterated its trading clients remained largely supportive.
Among the few gainers, Osram rose 1 percent after German daily Handelsblatt reported that several Chinese companies were interested in buying the lighting company.
(Reporting by Danilo Masoni; Editing by Atul Prakash)
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