In London, markets declined after the economy's weakness was outlined by reports from housebuilders and banks and the FTSE dropped 83.3 points (1.37%) to 6,000.3.
National Grid was the biggest winner, adding 4.5p (0.64%) to 704.5p, while Rolls-Royce added 2.5 points (0.58%) to 432p. Persimmon shares slid after the firm announced an 18% fall in sales of new properties, down 53.5 points (8.23%) to 596.5, closely followed by Eurasian which lost 109p (7.68%) to £13.11. On Wall Street, markets closed up after gains for technology firms and manufacturers and the Dow Jones added 42.99 (0.34%) to 12,763.22. Boeing made the biggest gains after reporting a 38% increase in first quarter profits, up 3.53 (4.49%) to $82.09. Microsoft followed with a gain of 1...
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