FTSE plummets on double-dip fears

London’s leading share index suffered its biggest daily fall for almost three years after bleak comments from US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke again raised double-dip recession fears.

The FTSE 100 Index closed more than 4% or 246.8 points lower at 5041.6 – its worst points drop since November 2008 – as mining and financial shares took a pounding on worries over the US economy.