European markets end significantly lower, banks lead losses

European stock markets witnessed significant declines on Tuesday. This followed Italy's decision to impose a 40% tax on bank profits and Moody's choice to downgrade the credit scores of 10 smaller and medium-sized U.S. banks, while also reassessing six major financial institutions. The Italian FTSE MIB index dipped by 2.16%. Both BPER Banca and Banca Monte Paschi Siena saw their values plummet by over 10%.