The FTSE slumped 1.14% to 5080.80 in early trading as it continues to be battered by global concerns over the economy and debt issues in Greece and Portugal.
London’s blue chip index closed down 2.17% to 5,139.31 yesterday as the impact of disappointing US jobless figures and mounting concerns over debt issues in Greece and Portugal reverberated around the globe.
The Dow Jones dropped below the critical 10,000 mark yesterday, but eventually closed down 268 points at 10,002. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq fell 65 to 2,125 while the S&P 500 dropped 3.1% to 1,063.
Oil and commodity prices slumped with copper prices declining to a three-month low and the price of crude down almost $4.
The global sell-off also hit Japan with the Nikkei 225 dropping to its lowest close in almost two months, down 2.9% to 10,057.09.
Yen appreciation against the dollar and the euro hit exporters such as Panasonic, which gets 23% of its overseas sales in Europe, and it fell 3.1%. Honda also dropped 3.7% while Mitsubishi sank 3.3%.
Financials are taking the greatest toll on the UK’s blue chip index in early trading with RBS (down 5.01%), Barclays (down 4.78%) and Lloyds (down 4.98%) amongst the biggest losers.
British Airways was amongst the winners, up 1.51% to 214.50p, despite forecasts it will make record losses this year. The rise came after the airline reported a better than expected pre-tax loss of £50m for Q4, 2009. However, its pre-tax loss in the nine months to December rose to £342m from £70m during the same period in 2008.
