FTSE 100 falls on opening

Wednesday, 11 February 2009 12:00

The FTSE 100 continued its slump in early trading, falling 12.3 points to 4,200.78 by 08:30 GMT.

Banking stocks led the fall as chief executives from HBOS and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) faced a grilling on their activities leading up to the credit crisis.

Lloyds Banking Group led the fall, dropping 7.27 per cent, with RBS following closely, down 5.88 per cent.

Barclays, which has not taken any cash from the government in an attempt to remain independent, also saw its shares fall by 5.56 per cent.

However, several stocks were trading higher on opening.

Household products maker Reckitt Benckiser saw shares rise 4.35 per cent after reporting fourth quarter results, while Rio Tinto, which is rumoured to be in talks to cut its debt burden, rose 3.26 per cent.

Overnight, the US Dow Jones index fell 4.62 per cent on fears a new financial package will not be enough to rescue the economy.

Investors today will be eyeing jobs data out later this morning, and the Bank of England's inflation report.

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