FTSE 100 shares in the red
Shares in London ended on a weak note Wednesday after both the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve downgraded their economic outlooks, sparking deep concern over the global recovery.
The benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 2.44 percent at 5,245.21 points.
Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) was the most traded stock, seeing 245 million shares switch owners, followed by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which saw 116 million units change hands.
Smiths Group was the top blue-chip performer, adding 45 pence -- or 3.92 percent -- to end at 1193, followed by Randgold, which rose 25 pence -- or 0.46 percent -- to end at 5465.
Lloyds was the biggest faller, shedding 5.09 pence -- or 6.78 percent -- to end at 70.03, followed by TUI Travel down 13.10 pence -- or 6.45 percent -- at 190.
Meanwhile, the pound slipped against the dollar while it rose against the euro.
At 17:05 BST, sterling was trading at 1.5677 dollars, down from 1.5853 dollars at the same time Tuesday, while the currency stood at 1.2164 euros, up from 1.2031 over the same period.
Copyright 2010  AFP European Edition
