Further woe for investors as £9bn is wiped off shares
By the close of trading the FTSE 100 was down 37.5 points at 3858, the lowest since September 1996, wiping another £9 billion from shares. The slide adds to yesterday’s 202-point drop and is the second consecutive day the market has closed below 4,000. A mixed opening on Wall Street did little to help sentiment.
Insurers continued to fall. Monday’s profit warning from Aegon and yesterday’s alert from financial services group Fortis weighed on the sector. Aviva closed down 7%, off 25p at 355p. Royal & Sun Alliance slid 11%, or 19p at 166p, and Prudential fell 8%, or 36p to 420p.
