Financials weighed heavily on the FTSE 100 this morning, pushing the index down more than 27 points (0.77%) to 3,503.66 by 8.30am.
The sector fell 4.23%, led by Lloyds, which dropped 10.24% to 37.70 on the back of news the Government is taking a 77% stake in the banking group, underwriting £260bn in toxic assets. Despite the bailout, Lloyds is set to distribute around £80m in cash bonuses to staff today under an agreement with Government-owned body UK Financial Investments (UKFI). HSBC tumbled 10.26% to 323.75 ahead of its rights issue, with investors seemingly shorting the stock in a bid to further depress the price. Barclays also featured among the largest losers, falling more than 5% to 61.5 following report...
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