Stocks plunge on US bill rejection

Tuesday, 30 September 2008 12:00

The FTSE 100 dropped sharply after the US Congress rejected a $700 billion (£380 billion) bailout scheme.

The blue-chip index opened at 4,784.53 and had dropped to 4,675.77 by 08:15 BST, losing another three per cent in value from last night's close.

The nationalisation of Bradford & Bingley had sent the FTSE 100 below the 5,000 mark when it opened yesterday but the rejection of a rescue bill last night sent markets crashing all over the world.

Stocks across all industries have been affected, although insurers have fared slightly better this morning with a 3.03 per cent rise for RSA Insurance Group and 1.61 per cent increase for Standard Chartered.

Broker firm Icap led the decline with a 23.58 per cent drop after admitting uncertainty over this year's profits for the first time.

Man Group, the listed hedge fund, followed Icap with a fall of 18.26 per cent.

The US markets saw their worst day since 1987, with Standard & Poor's 500-stock index plunging almost nine per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average down almost seven per cent.

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