Footsie falls as banks and telecoms struggle

London share prices are down as falls in banking and telecoms stocks weigh on the market.

The Footsie index of 100 leading stocks is down 26 points at mid-morning to stand at 5138.9, pulling back from an earlier 83-point fall.

The mood is subdued, despite a surge on Wall Street overnight, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average returned to pre-September 11 levels.

Shares in BT - which released disappointing mobile phone figures yesterday - are down 5¾p at 334½p amid reports that chief executive Sir Peter Bonfield could leave by the middle of next year - several months earlier than expected.

Vodafone is down 3p at 158¼p; while Orange has fallen 8½p to 517½p.

Banks are also on the slide, with Abbey National off 36p at £10.76; Barclays 63p lower at £20.40; Lloyds TSB down 14p at 696½p; Standard Chartered slipping 11p to 719p; and HBoS off 13½p at 778½p.

Insurer Prudential is down 15p at 730p; mortgage bank Northern Rock is 5p lower at 560p; South African life assurer Old Mutual is off 2¼p at 109¼p; and fund manager Amvescap is 31p lower at 887p.

Among the second-tier Footsie 250 stocks, Marconi is up 17% or 2.8p to 19.6p as it prepares to issue its crucial trading update on Monday.

Instrument maker and music publisher Boosey & Hawkes is up 5% or 8½p at 171p after saying it will listen to all takeover offers, rather than remain in exclusive talks with a consortium.