FTSE plummets 2.6% as Greek bonds rated 'junk'

The FTSE 100 lost more than 150 points and closed barely over 5,600 after Greece's debt was downgraded to junk status by ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P).

The index closed Tuesday down 150.33 points, or 2.61%, at 5,603.52. S&P lowered its rating on Greek bonds amid mounting fears the nation's debt crisis is spiralling out of control. It downgraded Greece's long and short-term sovereign credit ratings to BB+ and B respectively, from BBB+ and A-2. S&P also cut Portugal's long-term government debt by two notches, to A-, as doubt intensified about countries with large debt relative to GDP. The downgrades hit US and European markets. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones was 1.4% lower at 11,052.1 points. In London, miners suffered sha...