FTSE hits biggest loss in five months

The biggest one-day loss in five months hit the FTSE 100 index today, when it dropped more than 100 points to 5,100 on fears over forward crude oil prices and sharp drops in telecoms share prices.

Whether it was the dour May bank holiday weekend weather or some other reason, traders came back to their desks today intent on selling.

17 stocks declined for every one that gained this morning.

Investors piled back into mining, construction materials and building stocks to find security.

Anglo American was an early leader, currently up 2p to £11.5, after the price of gold rose again in South Africa yesterday and it said it would sell a nickel mining unit.

It is not a good day for BP, Shell, Vodafone or GlaxoSmithKline, however.

Vodafone has been shifted off an influential list of 'must have' stocks by one investment house, and its share price has dropped a further 5.25p to 92.75p.

BP is down a whopping 23p to 571p.

GlaxoSmithKline is off 28p to £16.02, as investors continue to fret about the forward pipeline of new blockbuster drugs.

Unsurpisingly, the FTSE 250 mid-caps index has taken its lead from the FTSE 100, and is being headed by builder Barratt, up 15p to 507p.

However, there is one telecoms stock performing well: Telewest is up 1.09p to 10.91p as investors bet on the company being financially restructured and merged with rival NTL.

Overall, the FTSE 250 is down 30 points at 6,139.

Yesterday the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed in New York down nearly 200 points, or 2%, at 9,808.04, one of its roughest days ever.

Nasdaq's Composite index shed nearly 35 points to close at 1,578.48.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng has managed better, putting on a near 60 point gain today, to 11,795.98.

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