FTSE slides further as Japanese quake hits Asian markets

A major earthquake in Japan has rocked markets, which were already fragile yesterday as the FTSE 100 hit a five-week low.

The blue chip index dropped 1.6% or 92 points, to close at 5,845 last night, shaken by Moody's downgrade of Spain's credit.  It was down further in early trading this morning, off 0.16% at 5,836 points, as investors reacted to the massive earthquake in Northern Japan. The quake, which registered 8.9 in magnitude, struck while Tokyo was still trading. By close, the Nikkei fell 1.72%. As the news spread westwards, the Dow Jones plunged 228 points, a fall of 1.87% to stand at 11,984.61. Yesterday investors had already been spooked after Moody's downgraded Spain's sovereign credit rati...