FTSE 100 down nearly 4% in afternoon trading
The UK FTSE 100 index is down by nearly 200 points amid concerns about political uncertainty in the UK and the evolving debt crisis in Europe. When you also throw in the fact that growth in the Chinese economy is more subdued than many had expected there are more than enough worries for investors to panic in the short-term.
While the FTSE 100 index was well down, the FTSE 250 was down by nearly 5% showing how second line stocks appear to be taking the brunt of investor concerns in the short-term. Quite where UK stock markets will go from here remains to be seen but there is obviously concern in abundance. It is not as if we have a UK government in place to issue soothing words for investors with comments from Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling ringing fairly hollow at the moment.
Analysts will be reviewing their hopes for the UK stock market over the weekend and looking at various potential outcomes in both the political arena and the European debt markets. There is much to consider for investors in the UK and around the world and with markets moving so quickly time is of the essence.
Share this..
Related stories
RBS chief banned from city
Johnny Cameron, the former head of the Royal Bank of Scotland's investment banking division, has effectively been blacklisted by the Financial Securities Authority (FSA) in a compromise agreement. Johnny Cameron has agreed not to take a top job in the city ever again in exchange for the FSA confirming it will take no disciplinary action against him with regards to his role at Royal Bank of Scotlan...
Read MoreJohn Duffield returns to the market after New Star collapse
While he may be 70 years of age, there are no signs that John Duffield is set to hang up his fund management boots even after the demise of his last venture New Star. After losing nearly £1 million of his own money after the collapse of New Star (which had nearly £240 million of debts) he is back in action with a new investment group by the name of Hyde Park Asset Management.
This...
HSBC announces £12.5 billion rights issue and job cuts
HSBC has this morning confirmed a £12.5 billion rights issue and the loss of 1200 jobs in the UK. While this comes as no surprise to those in the industry it is a further blow for the UK job market as more and more observers forecast significant job cuts in the future. The 1200 jobs at risk will be spread amongst the company's operations in the UK as it seems there is no hiding place from the ong...
Read MoreIs Vodafone the first recipient of the weak pound?
It has been revealed today that mobile telecom giant Vodafone could benefit to the tune of £500 million in relation to its profits for the current year, purely because of the devaluation of sterling. The company has announced an increase in profit forecasts from £11.5 billion to £12 billion as 96% of the company's profits are in foreign currencies with are benefiting from a weaker sterling.
FTSE 100 closes under 4000 level as concerns mount
The FTSE 100 index today closed down just over 100 points at 3990.86 amid concerns of a possible stalling of the UK recovery and depressing news from America. As we touched on in one of our earlier post, the Bank of America released figures which on the surface seemed fairly upbeat only for one-off gains and a substantial increase in debt provisions to take the gloss off the announcement. The rath...
Read More