Monday: UK, European Shares Slide Sharply; US Down
Global markets suffer steep declines.
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).