The London market fell heavily today as investors reacted to the heaviest one-day fall for the Dow Jones Industrial Average in two years.
In a poor start to the week, the FTSE 100 Index fell by as much as 96.8 points before ending a traumatic first hour of trading 82.7 points lower at 4808.9.
Worries over prospects for forthcoming corporate results, fuelled by disappointing figures from computer maker IBM, have been blamed for the poor performance by markets worldwide.
The Dow Jones slumped by almost 2% on Friday and prompted Tokyo’s Nikkei index to fall by 4% earlier today.
The impact on London shares was felt across the market as no top flight stocks managed to reach positive territory.
The heaviest casualty was steel group Corus, down 5% or 2.5p at 48p, as investors worried that demand for its products had peaked.
British Airways was another faller, down 8.5p at 247.75p, while ICI slipped 7.75p to 257p and Norwich Union owner Aviva fell 14.5p to 612.5p.
William Hill dominated corporate headlines after announcing it was in talks to buy 600 betting shops from Stanley Leisure.
William Hill shares were 14p lower at 559p following the news, while FTSE 250 Index stock Stanley surged 7% or 35p to 507p as analysts said the deal made the company more likely to merge it casino operations with rival London Clubs International.
References: EGi News 18/04/05
