FTSE 100 falls in early trading

Tuesday 26th May 2009, 9:30AM BST.

FTSE 100 falls in early trading The FTSE 100 dipped slightly in early trading, falling 26.14 points to 4,339.15 as financial stocks fell on the index.

A fall in the blue-chip index, opening after an extended weekend break, was led by utility Pennon Group down by 3.74 per cent, while Royal Bank of Scotland dropped by 3.42 per cent and Prudential was lower by 2.76 per cent.

Commodities were supporting the index, with Rexam up 2.4 per cent and Eurasian Natural Resources up by 1.74 per cent.

Asian markets fell overnight on news North Korea could test more short-range missiles, pushing Japan’s Nikkei 225 0.4 per cent lower to 9,310.81 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index down 0.5 per cent.