FTSE 100 slumps lower

Thursday, 15 January 2009 12:00

The FTSE 100 tumbled further in early trading following yesterday's bleak outlook for banks and more gloomy news from the US.

By 08:28, the blue-chip index had shed 12 points to 4,167.78, led by a sharp 13.46 per cent fall in HBOS shares to 70.10p.

Home Retail Group, owner of Argos, this morning admitted profit margins are being significantly squeezed, and saw its shares fall 7.72 per cent to 190.10p.

Shares in HSBC fell again this morning, and dipped 2.63 per cent after an analyst note suggested the bank will be halving its dividend.

However, several stocks crept upwards.

Data specialist Experian rose 3.28 per cent after posting a six per cent revenue rise for the last three months, while Associated British Foods also climbed 0.96 per cent on strong trading at the firm's budget clothing range Primark.

In the US, the Dow Jones index slipped 2.94 per cent, as a 2.7 per cent fall in December retail sales indicated a worsening recession.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei fell 4.92 per cent overnight on a record fall in new machinery orders, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 3.37 per cent.

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