Supermarkets fail to stem FTSE losses

Morrison Supermarkets leads the morning’s winners, climbing 11.5p, or 4.24%, to 282.5p. Orthopedic company Smith & Nephew and pharmaceutical giant Astrazeneca are also up in early trading. However, electronic retailers DSG International – formerly Dixons – has dropped 3.74% to 103p. International directories company Yell Group is also down in early trading, falling 11.75p to 378p. In the US, concern that losses from mortgage defaults will spread through the economy pushed down shares of banks and commodities producers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 211.1, or 1.6%, to c...