Poor economic news drops FTSE 100

The FTSE 100 fell 1.22 per cent this morning amid a barrage of poor economic data.

At 10:00 BST the index was at 5,235.90 – down 65.30 points – the lowest since July 2005.

Poor high street sales data coupled with a record fall in property transactions and a rise in inflation to put traders in a dour mood.

Thomson Reuters was down 5.06 per cent, Royal Bank of Scotland fell 4.89 per cent, and London Stock Exchange Group dropped 4.82 per cent.

Standard Chartered slipped 3.92 per cent and ICAP dropped 3.56 per cent.

The top five risers were Compass Group (up 2.2 per cent), British energy (up 2.12 per cent), Cairn Energy (up 1.93 per cent), Scottish & Southern Energy (up 1.43 per cent) and Marks & Spencer (up 1.08 per cent).

London falls followed falls last night in New York – with the Dow Jones down 0.41 per cent and the Nasdaq dropping 1.17 per cent.

On the currency markets the dollar fell against most currencies – down 0.80 per cent to €0.62385, down 1.13 per cent to 104.985 yen, and down 0.86 per cent to £0.49705.

Sterling rose from the inflation figures making £1 now worth €1.2555, $2.01167 and 211.25 yen.