Blue chip banks suffered heavy losses on the London market today as fresh fears over Barclays’ balance sheet put the sector under pressure.

Blue chips endured another choppy day on the London market today as high-profile takeover activity failed to lift stocks into positive territory.

Share prices closed sharply lower following falls offshore with a slump by AMP and heavy selling in blue chips News Corp, major banks and resources, dealers said.

Blue chips ended the day near session lows, as a profits warning from US networking firm Juniper Networks and the state of emergency in Argentina impacted sentiment on both sides of the Atlantic, dealers said.