FTSE suffers early setback
The FTSE 100 Index is down 48.3 points at 3441.7, as telecoms, banking and insurance shares are hammered in early trading.
Abbey National is a heavy faller, plunging almost 4%, or 15p to 382p, while Lloyds TSB has dropped 9p to 366p and Barclays has fallen 7.5p to 326.75p.
Northern Rock has also eased back, down 8.5p to 559.5p, despite kicking off the banking reporting season with an 18% jump in full-year profits.
Of the telecoms, Vodafone is off 3% or 3.5p to 108.75p, mmO2 is down 1.25p at 46.25p and BT Group has tumbled 7.5p to 164.5p.
