Recovery concerns cause sluggish start for blue-chips

BLUE-CHIP shares endured a sluggish start to the week as hopes of a sustained recovery diminished.

Subdued trading throughout the day saw the FTSE 100 Index lose 46.4 points to close below the 4200 mark at 4180.9. Shares had risen sharply in the last month but concerns about the state of the global economic recovery have since dented progress.

US markets were closed yesterday, adding to the lacklustre feel, and many traders were concerned Wall Street would continue its own downward path when it reopens. Scott Longley, trading analyst at IG Index, said there were signs the Dow Jones Industrial Average may drop 60 to 70 points today.

Heavyweight mobile phone group Vodafone was one of the City’s biggest losers today amid speculation it was considering splashing out an estimated £8 billion on French rival SFR.

Analysts fretted about the cost of such a deal and shares lost 3¾p to 99¾p.

Vodafone’s 4% fall reflected a difficult session across the wider telecoms sector. MmO2 was off 2¼p to 47¼p, BT shed ¾p to 199¼p and Cable & Wireless was a penny lower at 159½p.

But the day’s toughest trading was largely restricted to insurers as investors continue to worry about solvency issues linked to falling equity markets.

The heaviest losers were Royal Sun & Alliance, off 6½p at 118p, Schroders NV, off 23p at 476p, British Airways, off 7p at 145p and Amvescap, off 20p at 416½p.