Footsie closes more than 1% lower

London’s FTSE 100 Index closed more than 1% lower today as investors took profits after a three day upward run.

The prospect of breaking through the 4000 barrier appeared to be the catalyst for the slump as an initial surge of 51 points to 3967 in the first hour turned into a fall of 61.9 points to 3854.9 by the end of the session.