Banking stocks weigh on the market for the second day in a row

Blue chips stocks were down for the second day in a row in afternoon trading as Deutsche Bank's stock fell to fresh lows.

Shares in the giant lender fell another 3% in trading in Frankfurt after the bank was forced to deny it had gone to the German government for help as it faces a $14bn (£11bn) bill from US regulators regarding its sale of mortgage products. The stock has fallen some 60% since last November.

Late on Monday (21 September) the bank said: "At no point has [chief executive] John Cryan asked Chancellor [Angela] Merkel to intervene in the RMBS [residential mortgage-backed securities] issue with the US Department of Justice. Deutsche Bank is determined to meet the challenges on its own."

The FTSE 100 Index fell 21.1 points to 6797, as banks across Europe fell in the current fragile low-interest rate environment. Lenders struggle to make profits when interest rates are low. The FTSE 250 Index dropped 135.8 points to 17597.

Royal Bank of Scotland fell 5.5p to 172p, Standard Chartered slipped 15.8p to 610p and Barclays dropped 3.2p to 165p.

In afternoon trading the biggest risers in the FTSE 100 Index were Carnival (+97p to 3652p), Pearson (+11p to 737p), Sky (+10p to 844.5p), Fresnillo (+18p to 1808p) and Persimmon (+16p to 1780p).

The biggest fallers in the FTSE 100 Index were Wolseley (-172p to 4128p), Royal Bank of Scotland (-5.5p to 172p), Standard Chartered (-15.8p to 610p), International Airlines Group (-7p to 387.5p) and easyJet (-17.5p to 998.5p).

In afternoon trading the biggest risers in the FTSE 250 Index were Card Factory (+7.5p to 309.6p), Softcat (+8p to 328.5p), CYBG (+4.7p to 255.7p), CLS Holdings (+27p to 1622p) and Polypipe Group (+3.3p to 277.4p).

The biggest fallers in the FTSE 250 Index were Aveva Group (-100p to 1865p), AO World (-6.3p to 157.1p), Hunting (-16.6p to 414.4p), Inchcape (-21.5p to 636p) and Paragon Group (-9.8p to 300p).