Greek banks hit by political uncertainty Yesterday's brief respite from a week of heavy selling proved shortlived, as markets across Europe fell on Friday morning. In Greece banking stocks led losses, as newly elected political leaders met for a fifth day to try to form a coalition and avert a second election. EFG Eurobank tumbled 11.5 per cent to €0.49, helping to pull the Athens General index down 4 per cent to 617.89. An announcement just before midday that Greece would auction €1bn of three month T-bills on May 15 pushed the index down. Piraeus Bank and Alpha Bank fell 9.8 per cent to €0.22 and €0.75 respectively. In Madrid, where the government will give details on plans to shake up the banking sector, the Ibex 35 fell 1 per cent to 6,976. The banking reforms, which will be announced by 2pm BST today, are expected to include requirements for banks to add at least €30bn in additional capital to cushion against bad property loans. Across Europe markets were down, with the Eurofirst 300 sliding 0.7 per cent to 1,012.11. In Paris, the CAC 40 index was dragged down by Vallourec . The shares dived 20 per cent to €34.40 after the French group said sales would grow 5 per cent, compared with a previous forecast of 10 per cent. UBS, Cheuvreux, Credit Suisse and Natixis all cut their targets on Vallourec's share price. Renault made the biggest gain across the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index on Friday morning. The slimbed 4.2 per cent to €32.95 after Nissan Motor reported a 33 per cent jump in first quarter operating profits. Renault owns a 43.4 per cent stake in the Japanese carmaker. In Milan, the FTSE MIB index slid 0.6 per cent to 13,924.15, while in Frankfurt the Xetra Dax fell 0.5 per cent to 6,485.28.