Dow falls as Fed casts doubt on US economy

The Dow Jones fell 117 points (1.39%) to 8,305.04, with both heavy industry and tech firms dragging on the index. Alcoa shares were the biggest loser, down 4.43% to $9.07, while Caterpillar dipped 3.27% to $36.08 and Boeing shares fell 2.65% to $43.40. Poor jobs data is thought to be a key driver. Tech firms also performed badly, with Hewlett Packard down 2.74% to $33.72, while software giant Microsoft saw shares fall 1.8% to $20.01. London shares continued to perform poorly through the afternoon as Standard & Poors downgraded the UK's outlook to negative. By 3pm, the main FTSE...