European equities had their gains for 2009 wiped out yesterday as continued turmoil in the banking sector sent the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index down more than 4 per cent.

The German financial sector tumbled after Deutsche Bank, the country’s largest bank by market value, announced its first annual loss in five decades. It expected to book a €4.8bn loss in the fourth quarter of 2008, primarily because of proprietary trading losses, and a loss of about €3.9bn for the year, the bank said.