Stockmarkets fall as Spanish banks downgraded

European stockmarkets have suffered falls in early trading, on the back of the latest developments in the eurozone crisis.

Moody's ratings agency last night downgraded 16 Spanish banks by between one and three notches.

Another agency, Fitch, delivered another blow to Greece, downgrading their credit rating one more notch, to Triple C, as question marks hang over their membership of the eurozone.

Some experts have played down concerns about the effect a Greek exit would have on the single currency, saying it would not be as bad as when Lehman Brothers collapsed in the US.