FTSE 100 down 2% in early trading

Friday 20th February 2009

The FTSE 100 saw a deep fall in early trading heading below the 4,000 mark and its lowest mark of 2009.

At 08:19 GMT, the index stood at 3,933.77 – a drop of 84.60 points or 2.11 per cent.

The sudden loss in confidence comes after the Dow Jones fell 1.19 per cent last night in New York and the Nikkei was down 1.87 per cent in Tokyo – as fears about the depth of the recession intensified.

The only company to see share prices up in early trading was Prudential – rising 5.36 per cent after the insurer reported a five per cent rise in sales to £3 billion.

Leading falls were the miners with Anglo American down 10.60 per cent, Xstrata down 7.16 per cent, Kazakhmys down 6.32 per cent and Rio Tinto down 6.20 per cent.

Anglo American announced it was scrapping its 2008 dividend to build up its cash base, as profits fell one per cent and 19,000 job were to go.

Property specialist Liberty International dropped 6.57 per cent – as data today from the Council of Mortgage Lenders is expected to show an increase in repossessions.
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