FTSE down 80 points

The FTSE 100 Index plunged again today as debt-laden Greece agreed a rescue deal to avert national bankruptcy.

Rating agency Moody's stoked more concerns over the crisis spreading to Portugal, Italy, Spain, Ireland and Britain as politicians in Athens voted through the harsh economic conditions which come with the bail-out.

Another volatile session for the FTSE 100 Index saw it shed 80.9 points to 5261 as the UK also went to the polls amid prospects of a hung Parliament.

The declines followed losses for Asian markets with Wall Street's Dow Jones Industrial Average losing more than 1% in early trading after mixed economic news.

The main focus of the markets however was the Greek drama and fears of the crisis spreading elsewhere in Europe.

The euro was under heavy pressure - falling below 1.27 against the dollar. The pound strengthened above 1.18 against the single currency at one point - and then took a late slump against the dollar to 1.48.

Investors are treating the greenback as a safe haven until the outcome of the general election and the Greece situation is clearer.

IG Index market strategist Anthony Grech said: "The short-term fortunes of the London index will be dictated by the outcome of today's general election, although failure to see a clear result by tomorrow's open could easily pave the way for further volatility ahead of the weekend break."

With all eyes on the financial sector amid the European turmoil, banks were London's biggest fallers. Barclays lost 21.05p to 301.7p, HSBC fell 24.2p to 628.4p and Royal Bank of Scotland slipped 2.2p to 48.2p ahead of its latest trading update.

Lloyds Banking Group - which faced protests from its shareholders over pay at the bank's annual meeting today - saw shares fall 3.5p to 56.6p.

Supermarket Morrisons was among the biggest fallers after food inflation virtually ground to halt in its first quarter, leading to disappointing sales growth. Analysts said the firm was outperforming the industry but shares still fell 9p to 269.8p.

Fellow grocers Tesco and Sainsbury were also on the back foot amid caution on the industry's growth prospects. The pair lost 7.1p to 419.8p and 7.5p to 325.1p respectively.

Another faller was British Airways, which slid 4.4p to 204.6p after announcing a 22% plunge in traffic last month due to volcanic ash disruption.

Insurer Prudential saw a second day of rises on the Footsie, up 0.5p to 549.5p despite delays to its record rights issue to fund the purchase of insurance giant AIG's Asian business.

The world's biggest drinks can maker, Rexam, was also in demand after first quarter results came in ahead of expectations. Shares cheered 8.8p to 321.5p.

The biggest Footsie risers were Schroders ahead 80p at 1389p, Rexam ahead 8.8p at 321.5p, Randgold Resources up 135p at 5580p and Home Retail up 5.5p at 274.3p.

The biggest Footsie fallers were Barclays down 21.05p at 301.7p, Lloyds off 3.5p to 56.6p, Cobham down 14.6p to 244.3p and Standard Chartered off 79p to 1611.5p.