Headline shares suffered heavy losses, with financial and commodity issues the main casualties as growth concerns intensified and with Wall Street tumbling to a triple-digit reverse. At the close of business, the FTSE100 was down 170.88 points at 5,262.85 with the FTSE250 off 263.06 points at 10,022.9 and the FTSE Smallcaps 34.44 points lower at 2,872.45. US stocks were sharply lower in late morning trade, investors plagued by concerns over European sovereign debt. Approaching the close in London, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 193 points at 10,590, the S&P500 fell 24 points at 1,133 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 58 points at 2,336.
LONDON MARKETS
Weakness in global markets and concerns that austerity measures in Iberia may extend to other European nations and thus restrict growth, provided a negative backdrop for activity in London today. The sole winner on the FTSE100 was building supplies giant Wolseley (LON:WOS), which said trading profit for the year to end-July is expected to exceed the current analysts' consensus forecast of £374m. Wolseley (LON:WOS), shares jumped 80p at 1,688p.
Financial issues were under heavy pressure throughout, with UK banks facing a ban on the sale of credit insurance, and hedge funds expecting to be hit by new EU legislation. Barclays (LON:BARC) was the biggest banking casualty, down 20.1p at 308.9p, with Royal Bank Of Scotland Group Plc (LON:RBS) 1.9p lower at 47.26p and Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) retreating 2.87p at 57.68p. Fund managers were on offer, with Schroders (LON:SDR) down 46p at 1,392p and Man Group (LON:EMG) off 8.2p at 221.5p. Private equity firm 3i (LON:III) Group fell 14.5p at 274.2p.
The mining fraternity faced a sell-off as metals prices fell on growth concerns, with Xstrata Plc (LON:XTA) the biggest FTSE100 casualty of the morning, down 87p at 1,009.5p. Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) fell 55p at 902p and Vedanta Resources (LON:VED) tumbled 169p at 2,389p.
Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) slipped 165p at 6,010p as gold backed away from its recent new high to settle at $1,225 an ounce.
Oil producers also felt the heat, with BP (LON:BP.) facing further pressure as its chief admitted his job is in danger in the light of their problems in the Gulf of Mexico. BP (LON:BP.) shares slipped 17.4p at 530.2p, while Shell fell 43p at 1,779.5p…
