UPDATE: Uneasy markets await key Bernanke speech

The FTSE opened more than 40 points lower on Friday as US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke gears up to deliver a key speech on the ailing US economy.

London's leading index fell as low as 5,085 in early trading but had recovered slightly by 11am. A year ago, Bernanke used a speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to pave the way for $600bn (£368bn) of quantitative easing (QE) - the process of injecting cash into the financial system to try to boost the economy. And with data earlier this month pointing to continuing sluggish growth in the US and Europe, some expect Bernanke to act again and launch a third round of QE. To date, a total of $2.3trn has been injected in a bid to revitalise the recovery. Shares have rallied all week in a...