London shares moved sharply lower today as the killing of the leader of terrorist group Hamas unsettled investors.
The FTSE 100 Index retreated 76.6 points to 4341.1 as traders digested the impact of the latest bloodshed in the Middle East on global markets.
Confidence in blue-chip stocks was also weakened by steep losses on Wall Street, with markets in the Far East also under pressure overnight.
Corporate news is expected to be slow this week and analysts said the Footsie could lose further ground.
Only two blue-chip companies avoided the sell-off today with cigarette filters-to-packaging supplier Bunzl ahead 0.5p at 473.75p and healthcare group Amersham up 0.5p at 797.5p.
Fears of further terrorist atrocities weighed heavily on the performance of British Airways, which topped the fallers board with a loss of 5 per cent or 13.75p at 260.5p.
It was followed by building materials group Wolseley which failed to cheer investors with a 21 per cent rise in interim profits. Shares were off 4 per cent or 36.5p at 815p despite a positive outlook for the second half of the year.
Financial stocks also conceded ground with HBOS off 8.5p at 713p, Royal Bank of Scotland weakening 23p at 1652p and Alliance & Leicester 14.5p cheaper at 856p.
Outside the top flight, online travel specialist ebookers fell 17 per cent or 67,5p to 330p after bottom-line losses widened to £14.9 million from £12.3 million in 2002.
Bob the Builder and Pingu owner Hit Entertainment slipped 12p to 280p as half-year profits fell to £24 million from £25.5 million. It blamed the decline on strong comparatives with a year earlier and the lower availability of its Bob product range over Christmas.
But a return to the black by civil engineer John Laing helped its shares rise 2p to 195p. The group said it had benefited from focusing on infrastructure and investment as it posted profits of £21.2 million.