Markets SPIRAL: Panic as FTSE 100 enters bear market and loses more than £40BN in AN HOUR
BRITAIN’S top stock market has crashed to its lowest level since 2012 as fears continue to rage over diving oil prices and China’s economy.
By LANA CLEMENTS
Express.co.uk
Wed, Jan 20, 2016
The FTSE 100 plummeted by 3.68 per cent during Wednesday’s trading – lose more than £44billion in value the space of less than an hour at the open- and has now seen more than £100bn wiped since the start of 2016.
The bluechip index finally closed at 5,664.61 – its lowest level since 2012.
The sell-off was sparked as oil prices once again started falling.
Markets in America and Europe also tumbled, with Dow Jones and Nasdaq in the US both falling by more than two per cent, and France’s CAC and Germany DAX plunging by more than three per cent.
At one point, the FTSE 100 reached as low as 5,639, depths not seen in almost four years, while the Dow Jones lost more than 400 points before a partial recovery.
Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: “A slide in oil prices was all that was required to send yesterday’s rebound back down the wall of worry, and back onto the slope of sorrow.
“Since the beginning of this year equity markets have not only spun their wheels, they have lost any semblance of positive traction as continued concerns of oversupply in the oil and gas market set against a backdrop of slowing global growth has seen stock markets across the globe slip back into bear market territory.”
In London Shell heightened investor fears by slashing its earnings forecasts by half for 2015 this morning.
The oil giant had already confirmed it will axe 10,000 jobs as it buys rival BG Group, and is now looking to make a further £2.1bn of further savings this year – underlining the dismal market conditions.
Shell’s shares dropped by four per cent after the update.
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