MILAN, June 24 (Reuters) - Shares in Italian banks UniCredit SpA and Intesa Sanpaolo fell sharply on Friday as worries circulated about their capital positions and the deepening euro zone crisis.
Brokers cited a host of reasons contributing to the sell-off.
These included speculation Italian banks could be forced to raise more capital as a result of imminent stress tests, a European Central Bank board member saying the euro zone debt crisis was not over, German comments on a possible sovereign debt rollover, and a Moody's downgrade threat on Italian banks.
Shares in Italy's top two banks were briefly suspended for hitting the daily downward limit.
At 1150 GMT, Intesa had restarted trading and was down 2.2 percent at 1.74 euros, while UniCredit was down 4.7 percent at 1.375 euros.
Several traders said there were fears Italian banks could be shown to be short of capital in stress tests to be released next month.
"It is easy to see that Italian banks are in the sights of everyone," one Milan trader said.
Another dealer said the suspension of UniCredit and Intesa's shares added to the unease.
"All the rumours, and the suspension -- without knowing what was going on -- hasn't helped. Markets are very nervous and any whiff of bad news can make people very jittery," the dealer said.
Brokers cited a host of reasons contributing to the sell-off.
These included speculation Italian banks could be forced to raise more capital as a result of imminent stress tests, a European Central Bank board member saying the euro zone debt crisis was not over, German comments on a possible sovereign debt rollover, and a Moody's downgrade threat on Italian banks.
Shares in Italy's top two banks were briefly suspended for hitting the daily downward limit.
At 1150 GMT, Intesa had restarted trading and was down 2.2 percent at 1.74 euros, while UniCredit was down 4.7 percent at 1.375 euros.
Several traders said there were fears Italian banks could be shown to be short of capital in stress tests to be released next month.
"It is easy to see that Italian banks are in the sights of everyone," one Milan trader said.
Another dealer said the suspension of UniCredit and Intesa's shares added to the unease.
"All the rumours, and the suspension -- without knowing what was going on -- hasn't helped. Markets are very nervous and any whiff of bad news can make people very jittery," the dealer said.
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