Gloom as Footsie falls below 4,000

Gains of more than 8% for battered Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Lloyds failed to prevent the FTSE 100 Index from slipping below the 4,000 mark by 11.15am today.

The Footsie was down 8.3 points at 3998.5 by mid-morning as the market struggled for direction after a flat finish for America’s Dow Jones Industrial Average.