FTSE 100 slides on opening

The FTSE 100 opened higher but quickly fell back into the red after yesterday's news of more job losses shook investor confidence.

The index opened at 3,812.02 but by 08:30 GMT had slid to 3,803.00, just under last night's closing price.

However, several stocks were rising, which may help boost the overall index in morning trading.

Randgold Resources was up 12.03 per cent, while Prudential jumped 11.12 per cent and FirstGroup was up 7.77 per cent.

Meanwhile, HSBC shares were 3.15 per cent lower and British Land fell 2.78 per cent.

Over in the US, markets jumped after the Federal Reserve said it would buy treasury bills in a bid to kick-start lending.

The Dow Jones closed 1.23 per cent higher, while the S&P 500 rose 2.09 per cent.