FTSE 100 drops more than 2 percent

London’s declines were even bigger. The FTSE 100 was down 2.71 percent to 6,120.8 while the FTSE 250 plummeted 3.36 percent to 10,404.5. Banks were mixed in London, where there were only three gainers on the 100. The mining and oil sectors saw declines.

Declines in Europe were substantial. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 2.05 percent to 1,463.47. In Frankfurt the Dax fell 1.32 percent to 7,511.97 while the IBEX was 1.46 percent lower to 15,539.3 in Madrid and the Paris CAC-40 dropped 1.65 percent to 5,432.57. The telecommunications sector topped both the Dax and the CAC-40. There were gains in the telecommunications and utilities sectors. The media sector was mixed, while banks and carmakers were lower.

Most Asia-Pacific equities markets were lower on Monday after bank regulators in China instructed banks there to hold back on lending until year’s end. The only major exception was in Australia, where the S&P/ASX200 added 1.13 percent to 6,535.2 and the Sydney Ordinaries gained 1.15 percent to 6,601.3 on speculation that the worst of the losses related to the US subprime mortgage crisis could be over.

Elsewhere, the Sensex was down 0.33 percent to 19,633.36 in India while in Hong Kong the Hang Seng was 0.56 percent lower to 27,460.17. The Straits Times index dropped 0.85 percent to 3,411.72, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.87 percent to 5,269.82 and Taiwan’s Taiex index was 0.96 percent lower to 8,680.17. In South Korea, the Kospi index was down 1.7 percent to 1,893.47.

Tokyo’s markets declined as well, with the Nikkei 225 falling to its lowest level since July 2006. The Nikkei was 0.74 percent lower to 15,042.56 while the Topix index dropped 1.02 percent to 1,456.61 and the Mothers market fell 2.03 percent to 823.09. Traders, shippers and the construction machinery sector were lower, but the retail sector saw gains.

In late afternoon trade, Wall Street was lower on bad news from the banking and house building sectors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.59 percent to 12,967.39 while the Nasdaq Composite was 1.51 percent lower to 2,597.5 and the S&P 500 had dropped 1.55 percent to 1,436.16. Banks saw declines on downgrades in the sector, while home improvement retailers were lower on the continuing slump in the housing sector.

Story link: FTSE 100 drops more than 2 percent