FTSE 100 Hits Lowest Level Since January

Banks dragged the UK markets lower, making this the third consecutive day of declines

Alanna Petroff 29 March, 2012 | 5:54PM
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Markets in the UK continued a steady march downwards, marking the third consecutive day of losses. Eighty-six out of the 100 companies traded on the FTSE 100, London’s benchmark index, experienced losses. That led the index to post a 1.15% drop, losing 67 points to close at 5,742. This is the lowest level the index has seen since late January. The FTSE 250 also experienced a similar 1.37% drop, which is the equivalent of 159 points. The mid-cap index closed at 11,431.

“Despite the recent sell off ... there is plenty of room for a further correction or unwind in the wider market,” said Darren Sinden, a senior sales trader at SilverWind Securities.

Various factors contributed to a gloomy day in the markets, including Spain's general strike and a report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) which forecast that the UK was heading back into a recession. Furthermore, the head of sovereign ratings at Standard & Poor’s announced last night that he expected Greece would have to restructure its debt at some point in the future.

Banking stocks fared particularly poorly, with Barclays (BARC) leading the losers on the FTSE 100 index. Shares in the banking giant dropped by nearly 5%.

One of the only clear winners in the market was International Power (IPR). The company’s shares shot up by 5.6% after it announced it had received a takeover offer from GDF Suez (GSZ), which already owns a 70% stake in the company.

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Alanna Petroff

Alanna Petroff  is a financial journalist with Morningstar UK.

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