FTSE 100 slides in early trading

The FTSE 100 opened slightly higher this morning at 5,149.17, before sliding to 5,117.98 by 08:47 BST.

British Energy and Centrica were among the risers this morning, after the former accepted a £12.5 billion bid from EDF.

Centrica has agreed to take a 25 per cent stake in the new company, which will build a new fleet of nuclear reactors in the UK.

Shares in British Energy rose by 5.94 per cent in early trading, while Centrica was up by 2.57 per cent.

Mining, financial and travel stocks continued to fall. Weak metal prices sent Vedanta Resources 10.39 per cent into the red, while investor jitters pushed HBOS shares down by 13.78 per cent.

Shares in HBOS stood at 180.20p by 08:50 BST, while Lloyds TSB shares fell slightly to 254p.

In the US, the Dow Jones industrial average index fell 1.5 per cent on fears congress would delay a plan to rescue the financial sector.

However, Goldman Sachs received a boost when after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway made a $5 billion investment in the bank.

Shares in Goldman Sachs rose 8.4 per cent on the news, which also boosted Morgan Stanley's shares by 9.5 per cent.