FTSE down amid Eurozone gloom
Miners led the FTSE down in early trading as a two-session rally hit the buffers.
Fears that Eurozone leaders have lost control of the bloc’s fast unravelling finances sapped investor confidence.
A summit in Brussels today will thrash out possible ways to tackle the latest phase of the crisis including France’s idea for the issuing of Eurobonds.
The euro, commodities and commodity-linked currencies all slid amid the gloom.
The FTSE Eurofirst index of top European shares opened down 0.8 per cent at 985.76, after on Tuesday recording its biggest daily gain in a month.
That weakness was reflected on London’s blue chip index as investors shunned risky assets.
Miners Vedanta and Kazakhmys were both down more than five per cent as the sector was dented. Rio Tinto, down 4.2 per cent, followed the trend, while Anglo American dipped 2.7 per cent and BHP Billiton 3.3 per cent. Fresnillo nudged down more than three per cent.
Financial stocks were also struggling with hedge fund giant Man Group – whose shares have been buffeted in recent months – off by six per cent.
In banking Barclays lost 3.9 per cent while Lloyds and RBS saw more than two per cent wiped off their value.
Retailer Burberry was down 4.6 per cent despite reporting a profit jump of more than a quarter.
In a blow to the UK retail sector sales slid in April at their fastest pace in two years, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. Sales volumes were down 2.3 per cent – mainly triggered by a slide in fuel sales.
There were few significant risers on the blue chip index with National Grid, BskyB and Smith & Nephew up a shade over 0.5 per cent.
On the FTSE All share Cove Energy saw its stock surge by ten per cent after Thai energy giant PTT trumped a bid from Shell for the company.
In Asia the Nikkei closed down 1.9 per cent and the Hang Seng 1.3 per cent.