The Footsie index of 100 leading stocks is down 76.1 points at mid-morning to stand at 5039.9, pulling back from an earlier 112-point slump.

A rash of bad news and job cuts is hitting sentiment in the City, with the Footsie 100 index down 72.3 points after an hour's trading to stand at 5043.7.

The FTSE-100 Index ended a subdued session on the back foot today as traders wondered how to take the US Federal Reserve’s shock interest rate cut.