UK investors in for another gloomy day

Investors in London had another gloomy day today as the market continued to slide.

Yesterday, the FTSE 100 Index fell 3% to hit a six-year low as fears of war in Iraq and continued gloom about the global economy hurt shares.

After an hour of trading today, the FTSE fell a further 31.8 points at 3707.6.

London was subdued by another slide on Wall Street last night, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.4% lower, as well as falls on Asian markets overnight.

In addition, traders are likely to be nervy ahead of tonight’s decision on US interest rates. The Federal Reserve is generally expected to keep rates on hold at 1.75%.

Tom Hougaard, trader at City Index, said: “There is a real chance that the declines will continue as more and more investors realise the bear market is wiping out their wealth fast.”

Financial stocks were hard hit this morning, with banks and insurers falling, but oil stocks were making gains following a surge in oil prices.