FTSE plunge continues as stock market uncertainty reigns

Investors have faced further turmoil as the FTSE-100 Index of leading stocks continued its dramatic downwards slide.

The Footsie has mirrored stock markets around the world, falling 166.4 points at 5562.8 to close at its lowest point since the middle of December 1998.

In a rollercoaster week, the Footsie has plummeted by more than 355 points - wiping an estimated £82bn from the value of the Index in five days.

The losses come as traders fret over the state of the US and Japanese economies and digest a clutch of downbeat trading statements.

London markets were immediately put on the back foot by announcements in the US from computer manufacturer Compaq and software group Oracle. Compaq has said it plans to cut 5,000 jobs worldwide, while Oracle has announced the downturn in IT spending had been worse than expected.

Key economic data from the US has done little to lighten the mood, with both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq opening lower.

Stronger than expected consumer confidence figures dented hopes of an aggressive interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve. Inevitably, techs and telecoms stocks have felt the heat on this side of the Atlantic.

They include software group Sage which has lost 14%, or 41½p at 260p, while computer services company Logica is off 174p at £11.51. Autonomy, the software group which will be relegated from the FTSE-100 Index, went out in style by leading the Footsie fallers board with a drop of 14%, or 171p, at £10.19.

Telecom stocks in the red include Colt Telecom, down 101p at 895p, Energis off 11p at 349p, and Marconi down 35p at 392p. Mobile phone company Vodafone, one of the market's biggest stocks, is off 8p at 200p.

Predictably, retail stocks are gaining as investors looked for refuge from the hi-tech fallout.