Blue chips plunge after Bank of England’s rate cut

LONDON’S blue chip shares plunged back into negative territory yesterday, as the market suffered a delayed reaction to the Bank of England’s decision to slash rates.

After the briefest of rallies, share prices slid lower with the FTSE 100 Index closing at 3597.0, down 81.7 points.

Investors were wrong-footed by the quarter-point reduction to 3.75%, the lowest rate since 1955. Most economists had forecast rates would be unchanged.