Monday: UK, European Shares Slide Sharply; US Down
Global markets suffer steep declines.
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Resources issues were also hit exceptionally hard in London on Monday, with seven of the top 10 fallers in the FTSE 100 coming from the mining and energy sectors. Kazakhstan-based miner Kazakmhys posted the biggest loss of the day, dropping 26.6%, with another firm from the region, Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation, falling close behind with a 23.4% fall. Xstrata lost 19.2% on the day.
Financials also suffered steep declines following a string of unsettling news over the weekend, with Belgium enlisting BNP Paribas to rescue Fortis and Germany organising a revised rescue plan for Hypo Real Estate. In the UK, Royal Bank of Scotland fell 20.5%, HBOS dropped 19.8%, and Barclays lost 14.7%. HSBC held up better, dropping just 4.9%. Lloyds TSB fell 10.8% and Standard Chartered lost 9.7%.
Over the past year, the FTSE 100 has lost 29.8%, the FTSE All Share 31%, the FTSE 250 34.0%, and the FTSE AIM 100 has tumbled a staggering 50.8% (click here for index charts from Hemscott.com). In the same period, the DAX is down 32.4%, the CAC 40 is down 36.3% and the Nikkei 225 is down 39% (click here for index charts from Hemscott.com).