FTSE plunges below 5,000 on Greek deficit woes

News that Greece will fail to meet deficit reduction targets pushed the FTSE 100 down 2.8% at open, dragging it below 5,000 points.

The blue chip index opened down 145 points at 4,983, before recovering some ground to stand 2.2% down at 5,016. Shares across Europe were also falling in the wake of Sunday's announcement from Greece that it will not meet deficit reduction targets. Germany's Dax opened down 200 points, or 3.6%, to 5,301, with France's Cac 40 down 3.1% to 2,890. The Euro Stoxx 50 fell 3% to 2,115. In the UK, Barclays was the largest faller, down 5.9% to 152.2p, with Royal Bank of Scotland falling 5.3% to 22.3p and Lloyds Banking Group down 4.4% to 33.3p. Burberry group fell by 5.8% to 1,106. Bele...