Footsie slips below 6000 mark
The London market was back at levels not seen for more than a month after the FTSE 100 Index slipped below the 6000 barrier today.
The Footsie shared the pain seen across world markets as the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than 100 points and the US dollar weakened to put pressure on firms with a high proportion of earnings in US revenues.
By mid-morning, the Footsie stood 92.6 points lower at 5949.4, a drop of 1.5% after falling as low as 5936.8 at one point.
Only Schroders and Gallaher were in positive territory during one of the worst sessions of the year for the top flight.
Casualties from the falling dollar including Plumb Center owner Wolseley, which fell 52p to 1287p and Yell Group, off 14.5p at 509p.
Miners dominated the fallers board amid worries that demand from China for metals was waning. Antofagasta led the way with a drop of 106p to 2447p while Anglo American, off 96p at 2451p, and BHP Billiton eased 44.5p at 1167p.
Major oil stocks such as BP and Royal Dutch Shell were also on the back foot, even though the price of crude topped 73 US dollars a barrel. BP slipped 8.5p to 665p, while Shell was 19p lower at 1911p.
The gloom spilled over into the influential banking sector as HSBC fell 13.5p at 956.5p, Barclays eased 10.5p 646p and Royal Bank of Scotland slipped 29p to 1764p, a drop of almost 2%.
The FTSE 250 Index was also affected by the sell off, easing by more than 150 points to 9916.5 after breaching the 10,000 barrier earlier this month.
Platinum miner Lonmin was among the heaviest fallers with a drop of 156p to 2934p while Tullow Oil eased 20.75p to 414p.
