UK stocks hit by biggest one-day fall

By MoneyhighStreet Staff. Published on October 6, 2008 This post currently has no comments.

Newspaper
UK blue chips recorded their biggest one-day points fall ever today, with the financial sector leading the decline.

The benchmark FTSE 100 shed 391.1 points, or 7.8 per cent, to close down at 4,589.2 - a level not seen by the index for four years.

Meanwhile, the broader FTSE 250 fell by 520.75 points to close at 7,474.79, while the FTSE All-Share lost 182.41to finish at 2,339.71.

The day''s worst hit stocks included lenders Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS falling by between 14.7 per cent and 20.5 per cent, the Bloomberg news agency reports.

Manoj Ladwa, a senior trader at ETX Capital, said: "Another Monday, another banking crisis. Black Mondays used to be a once-a-decade event. Now they''re coming along more regularly than a London bus."

Other stocks to tumble were ICAP and Man Group which lost 5.2 per cent and 18.1 per cent respectively.