The FTSE 100 Index slumped almost eight per cent yesterday in its biggest one-day points fall.
As the global banking crisis intensified and caused misery around the world, London's blue-chip index fell 391.06 points to 4589.19, with banks and mining stocks hammered by the seemingly relentless economic woes. It is the top flight's lowest closin
g mark since October 2004.
New York's Dow Jones Industrial Average also fell more than four per cent to dip below 10,000 for the first time in four years, with Frankfurt's Dax ending the day seven per cent lower and the CAC 40 in Paris falling nearly nine per cent.
The plunge came amid fears for the global economy and mounting concerns the US-born banking crisis is spreading worldwide. The weekend saw one of Germany's biggest mortgage lenders propped up by the Government after another rescue attempt fell apart.
There were no risers for London's Footsie in yesterday's session, with just
Johnston Press finding positive territory in the FTSE 250 Index.
On a day featuring dozens of double-digit percentage declines, the biggest among blue chip financials came from
Royal Bank of Scotland, which is seen as being among the most vulnerable to a European banking meltdown. Shares were down 20 per cent, or 381/8p to 1481/8p.
Halifax Bank of Scotland also shed some of the gains seen last week, slumping back 393/4p at 1603/4p, while its merger partner
Lloyds TSB slid 311/4p to 259p.
Insurers were also under pressure amid concerns about the impact of a falling stock market on the capital surpluses held by firms in the sector.
Aviva fell 61p to 417p,
while Prudential was off 69p to 429p.
Miners added to the pain after investment bank UBS warned earnings in the mining sector could fall by a further 46 per cent in 2008. It also said that commodity prices could drop another 25 per cent.
The whole sector tumbled, with
Kazakhmys topping the Footsie's fallers' board, off by nearly 27 per cent or 1511/4p to 4173/4p.
Eurasian Natural Resources was close behind, down 130p to 425p.
British Airways started the day on the back foot after chief executive Willie Walsh reportedly said current conditions meant the airline's tie-up with Iberia could take longer than expected to conclude. Shares fell by nearly seven per cent after weaker passenger numbers on Friday and were down by another 12 per cent, or 203/8p to 145p on Monday.
Thomson owner
TUI Travel also succumbed to the misery, falling 24p to 1941/4p.
The travel sector falls came despite a drop in oil prices to below 90 dollars a barrel, their lowest level for eight months. Energy prospector
Cairn Energy lost 315p to 1539p as a result, with
BG Group down by 101p to 827p.
Debt-laden firms were also shaken by the day's events, with housebuilder
Taylor Wimpey down 7p at 273/4p and
Mitchells & Butlers off 231/4p at 187p.
The Footsie's biggest fallers were Kazakhmys, down 1511/4p to 4173/4p, Eurasian Natural Resources slipped 130p to 425p and Royal Bank of Scotland fell 381/8p to 1481/8p.
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