France, Sept. 21 -- Fresh coronavirus restrictions in Spain and across Europe, and news that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was pondering a second lockdown, have sent European stocks plummeting to a two month low.

Hit by worries of a surge in coronavirus cases across the continent the pan-European STOXX 600 slumped 2.2 percent with Britain's FTSE 100 down 2.7 percent.

The plunge is also due to a slide in HSBC and Standard Chartered, following reports that put the banks among those moving large sums of allegedly illicit funds over the past two decades.

Europe's banking sector, which is already down about 40 percent this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic fell by a further 4.7 percent.New lockdowns on the cards

The United Kingdom a...