Every blue-chip stock on the FTSE 100 Index tumbled into the red today, as fears about the health of the economy continued to dominate the market.
Heavy losses in the US and Asia overnight, coupled with worse-than-expected business confidence figures in Germany, added to the recent gloom.
By mid-morning, the FTSE 100 was off 245.0 points at 4,311.9 and on course for its lowest close since the spring of 1997.
The FTSE had plummeted to 4,313 earlier in the session and analysts said further falls could be expected later in the afternoon.
US investors are forecast to push the Dow Jones Industrial Average down by around 200 points in early trading on Wall Street today.
In London, engineering group Invensys was taking another battering, falling by 26%, or 10p, to 28p. The group’s shares began the week at 66.5p.
British Airways was another big faller, tumbling 17%, or 24.5p to 118p, wiping a further £290m from the airline’s market value.
The fall means BA’s share price has now fallen below its flotation price of 125p in 1987.
Airbus partner BAE Systems was faring slightly better despite fears over the airline industry, but was still off 1.5p at 303p.
Despite some brief support for the likes of Vodafone, telecom stocks were also falling back, with Marconi dropping 3p to 19.5p.
Telewest Communications fell 4.5p to 22.5p, Colt Telecom dropped 22.5p to 107.5p and Cable & Wireless slipped 9p to 252.5p. Vodafone was off 4%, or 6.5p to132.5p.
Two of the market’s biggest stocks, oil giants Shell and BP, were also in freefall, with Shell dropping 7%, or 30p to 421.5p and BP down 26p at 499p.
Banks were taking a hit, with HBoS off 61.5p at 646.5p, Lloyds TSB off 30p at 588p and Royal Bank of Scotland 100p lower at £11.75.
Alliance & Leicester dropped 20p to 656p as it added to the gloom by revealing 700 job cuts. In a quiet day for corporate news, there was little to cheer investors.
Restaurant chain Belgo blamed a drop in the number of tourists visiting London for a decline in full-year profits. Its shares eased p to 1.5p, a fall of 14%.
Berkshire-based car dealer William Jacks was enjoying a slightly better day, edging ahead 1p to 56.5p after posting a 16% jump in interim profits.
EGi News 21/09/01
