Stocks slide as accounting concerns impact on trade

LONDON shares continued to drift lower yesterday as investors' eyes turned towards George Bush's attempts to revive confidence in the US.

A brighter start on Wall Street this afternoon helped pull the FTSE 100 Index off its lows by the close of trading in the City. But as President Bush wrapped up his speech the Footsie still ended the session down 58.4 points at 4542.9.

Accounting concerns and fears over corporate profitability dominated most of the day in London, wiping out a near 35-point gain in the first hour.