FTSE 100 weighed down by banking stocks
Monday 2nd February 2009, 5:30PM GMT.
The FTSE 100 finished 1.73 per cent down led by a slump in financial stocks.
The index ended the day at 4,077.78, falling 71.86 points. Volumes on the index were sharply lower today as traders struggled through snow and ice to their offices.
Hedge fund Man Group led the fall, closing 11.03 per cent lower, closely followed by Barclays, which dropped 10.56 per cent to 94.9p.
Shares in Barclays have been falling throughout the day after the bank had its credit rating downgraded.
A handful of shares bucked the downward trend, led by Rio Tinto. Shares in the miner closed after the firm said it held talks to sell some assets to Chinese government-owned aluminium maker Chinalco.
David Jones, chief market strategist for IG Index, said: “As any recent gains for the FTSE melt away, the economic outlook seems set to remain frosty as far as investment prospects are concerned.
“With the MPC widely expected to implement a further rate cut later this week, sterling is likely to take a further hit against the dollar and euro – making it an undesirable hiding place for investors while the equity markets take a battering.”
Concerns about the banking sector and the economy also drove down the pound, which fell by three per cent against the dollar to $1.4053 earlier, according to Reuters data.
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