FTSE 100 sinks lower in early trading
Wednesday 8th April 2009, 9:13AM BST.
The FTSE 100 sunk further in early trading to 3,907.78 by 08:38 BST as investors lost confidence in financial stocks.
The optimism triggered by the G20 meeting last week appears to have evaporated as the US reporting season begins, sending the index back under 4,000.
Insurer Prudential led the decline this morning, with a 4.5 per cent fall, followed by a 4.34 per cent fall in Friends Provident.
Lloyds Banking Group also fell 3.98 per cent to 70p, while HSBC was trading 3.56 per cent lower.
Offsetting these falls were the defence, pharmaceutical and retail sectors.
Smith & Nephew rose 2.84 per cent, while DIY retailer Kingfisher was up by 2.19 per cent ahead of an anticipated Easter sales boost.
Tesco was also up, by 1.46 per cent, while defence firm Cobham maintained its rally, rising 1.39 per cent.
In the US, the first quarter reporting season began with Alcoa, and shares tumbled on fears companies fared worse than expected in the first few months of 2009.
At market close yesterday, the Dow Jones was off 2.3 per cent, while the S&P 500 fell 2.4 per cent.
Shropshire Star on Twitter
Keep updated with the latest breaking news and content on our Twitter feed.
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Shropshire Star and Express & Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
Entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases.
OUR NEW APP
Get the new Shropshire Star app
Download the Shropshire Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
shropshirestar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
