Economics / Markets

Slumping technology giants erased gains on both sides of the Atlantic on Thursday.

Barclays' share price slumped to its lowest level since 1985 on Wednesday as fears of further write-downs and possible nationalisation continued to plague sentiment.

Heavy sell-offs of Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays shares characterised the FTSE 100 this afternoon as fears about the scale of losses facing the sector continue.

After a tumultuous few days for UK banks, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Group rallied early on Tuesday with its share price climbing more than 15%.

Early morning gains in financials were lost this afternoon as the sector sank 10.78%, dragging the FTSE 100 down almost 30 points (0.66%) to 4,119.8.

The FTSE climbed 73.15 points (1.76%) to 4,220.21 shortly after opening this morning as Barclays soared 19.80p (20.20%) to 117.80 on the back of claims its earnings will beat forecasts and the Government's plans to inject billions more pounds into UK...

The FTSE 100 made a rapid 1.5% gain in early trading on Friday as miners and banks made steady progress.

The FTSE 100 continued its seemingly inexorable dive toward 4,000 on Thursday as glum sales figures for Argos and Home Retail piled further agony on the retail sector.

The FTSE 100 dived 6% in afternoon trading on Wednesday as a result of glum retail sales data across the Atlantic.

The Dow Jones saw its fifth consecutive day of losses yesterday, falling 25 points to close at 8449, as investors were spooked by yesterday's speech by Fed chairman Ben Bernanke.