Banks and miners send FTSE plummeting below 4,900

The blue chip index was down 179 points at 4,897 shortly after 1pm BST, with miners Xstrata, Vedanta,GKN and Glencore among the largest fallers, each dropping between 7% and 9%. Shares then recovered some losses as the index rose off its lows to 4,923, but the sole risers remained supermarkets Tesco and Morrisons, the former up 1.76% ahead of interim results tomorrow after UBS upgraded the stock from neutral to buy. Financials also came under renewed pressure after Belgium and France attempted to reassure markets over the stability of Belgian bank Dexia. The countries said they would ...