Shares lose £37bn
Billions of pounds have been wiped off share values as the FTSE 100 Index continues to nosedive.
The Footsie has now fallen 160.5 points to 4909.8 - falling below the 5,000 mark for the first time since October 1998.
The dive means around £37bn has been wiped off share values in the space of five hours.
Shares were battered by dives on Wall Street on Friday where the Dow Jones slumped 235 points as traders reacted to dismal US employment figures.
Dealers in the City however said the end was in sight, saying the market was oversold and would bottom out at around 4,700 as investors took advantage of buying opportunities.
But with economic gloom growing and further data out today confirming the pressures UK manufacturers are facing, there was little to buoy trading and the mood this afternoon will depend on how the US opens.
Scottish Power is a heavy faller, sliding after warning earnings would be hit by the slump in US electricity prices. Shares dived 61p to 419p.
Other power firms on the slide include International Power off 18p at 263p and PowerGen down 2½p at 736½p.
Telecoms and tech stocks have also taken a pounding with Colt Telecom shedding 13½p to 158½p, Energis down 3¾p at 58¾p, Vodafone 4p lower at 130p and BT off 11p at 340p.
Arm is off 10p at 245p, Sage has fallen 16p to 178¼p, Misys is down 15p at 273p, Logica has fallen 32p at 658p and CMG is off 3¾p at 235p.
But Marconi has risen 7%, or 2p to 31½p, after a weekend of speculation about its future.
HBoS, the newly-merged Halifax and Bank of Scotland, has started its first day as a combined business with shares marginally ahead, up 2½p at 834p.
But other banks are not so lucky. Barclays has fallen 52p to £18.43, Abbey National is down 47p at 972p, Standard Chartered has fallen 28p at 752p, HSBC has dropped 14p at 744p and Lloyds TSB is down 20p to 653p.
