The London market ended the week in the doldrums yesterday as economic woes continued to haunt the eurozone. A rolex fake shock report showing growth of just 0.1 per cent in the 16-nation group during the last three months of 2009 put the brakes on the top flight’s four-day winning run.
The FTSE 100 Index ended the day down 19 points at 5142.5, while New York’s Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped one per cent.
Wall Street’s decline came despite a report showing US retail sales grew more than expected in January.
Stocks fell after China said for the second time in a month it would force banks to increase their reserve levels, effectively tightening monetary policy, while the mood soured further after a disappointing report on US consumer sentiment.
The euro continued to be under pressure as fears over the eurozone economies persisted.
The pound rose to 1.14 euros but fell against the US currency, with Pounds 1 worth around 1.56 dollars.
Miners were off the menu following the China decision, as investors fear any slowdown in growth would hurt demand for raw materials.
This left Vedanta Resources 61p lower at 2363p, Xstrata down 25.5p at 1005p and Anglo American off 37.5p to 2310p.
The flight from risk also put banks under pressure as Lloyds Banking Group fell 1.56p to 46.59p, Barclays dropped 6.35p to 262p and Standard Chartered eased 22p to 1413.5p.
Barclays is due to post annual results on Tuesday. Royal Dutch Shell also fell 22p to 1663.5p after oil prices dipped below $74 a barrel as the US dollar strengthened.
But BP bucked the trend with a modest fall of 0.9p to 573.7p.
There was a further blow to confidence after fast-fashion
embroidered patches chain New Look abandoned plans for a stock market listing that would have raised Pounds 650 million.
In the retail sector, Next fell 3p to 1917p and Marks & Spencer dropped 4.1p to 327.9p.
Banks under pressure
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