Shares slide continues towards 4,000 barrier
The value of Britain’s biggest companies continued to slide today as nervy investors pushed the FTSE 100 Index back towards the 4,000 barrier.
Shares on the Footsie were down 55.1 points at 4043.2 by lunchtime as City traders prepared for the opening of trading on Wall Street.
Friday’s dismal showing in New York, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged by 4.6%, had left dealers fearing the worst.
The Footsie initially tumbled by almost 125 points but signs of a stronger than expected opening in the US led to a slight recovery in London.
Oil giants BP and Shell and pharmaceutical firms GlaxoSmithKline and Astra Zeneca were among those losing ground in London today.
Martin Dobson, head dealer at NatWest Stockbrokers, said there was little to suggest the volatility will begin to ease.
‘‘It’s still quite quiet around here. Confidence is low and it’s the bears that are dominating trading,’’ he added.
Several more US companies report second-quarter results later today while some of the UK’s biggest firms post their own updates later this week.
Telecoms giant BT, GlaxoSmithKline, Astra Zeneca, Abbey National and insurer Prudential are all due to present figures to the City.
News earlier today that US telecoms giant WorldCom had filed for bankruptcy protection did little to lift battered investors’ spirits.
Tom Hougaard, at financial bookies City Index, said: ‘‘Investors are fleeing to the sidelines and are happy just holding cash at this point.’’
