FTSE 100 stocks in the red (AFP)

LONDON (AFP) – Shares in London pushed lower on Wednesday as the banking sector took hits in reaction to the eurozone's deepening debt crisis.

The benchmark FTSE 100 index lost 0.35 percent at 6,002.92 points.

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was the most traded stock, seeing 121 million shares changed hands, followed by Lloyds Banking Group (LBG), which saw 120 million switch owners.

Serco ended the day as the top blue-chip riser, gaining 3.86 percent -- or 121 pence -- to 565.

ARM Holdings, which added 2.41 percent -- or 14.50 pence -- to end at 616.

Barclays was the worst blue-chip performer, dropping 3.76 percent -- or 9.75 penc3 -- to finish at 249.75, followed by RBS, which slipped 3.42 percent -- or 1.34 pence -- to end at 37.85.

On the currency markets, a pound was worth $1.5998 at 17:03 BST, down from 1.6061 at around the same time on Tuesday, while it stood at 1.1166 euros, up from 1.1131 over the same period.