An erratic and mostly indecisive session in British equities yesterday ended with the sellers finally getting the upper hand and driving the market's leaders sharply lower. But the losses in frontline stocks did not come without a keen tussle as the optimists continued to chase many of the perceived top-quality stocks and potential takeover targets.
At the close, the FTSE 100 index was 83.3 lower at 6,022.3, just off its session low. And there were losses right across the market with the FTSE 250 down 9.1 at 4,875.0 and the FTSE SmallCap 2.8 easier at 2,105.3.
Revived worries about the lingering effects of last year's severe crises in Asia and other markets and the possibility of further turbulence in South America gradually eroded confidence in London and elsewhere.
A bearish story about HSBC was behind the early weakness in the FTSE 100. A report from the US, suggesting the bank had suffered a substantial loss on its Thai loan book, dented HSBC shares and produced a sympathetic decline in Standard Chartered.
Turnover in equities reached 1.3 billion shares.
