Markets fall on US bailout plan fears
Global stock markets fall
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Tuesday, 23, Sep 2008 09:07
Fears over the US bailout plan have sent global equities plunging again, while oil surged by a record $25 yesterday before falling back slightly to $120.92 a barrel.
The FTSE 100 opened lower at 5,232.09 and had fallen by over 70 points by 08:38 BST, led by a slide in financial stocks.
Although markets have been bolstered by the US government's proposed $700 billion bailout plan for the troubled sector, Congress is yet to approve the scheme and may delay its implementation.
The surge in oil, seemingly as a result of speculation, led to gains for energy companies on the UK's benchmark index.
Petrofac was up 1.17 per cent by 08:48 BST, while Cairn Energy was up by 0.78 per cent and Royal Dutch Shell shares were up by 0.23 per cent.
However, shares in British Airways fell by 6.64 per cent on the rising oil prices, while mining stocks and financials also suffered. Royal Bank of Scotland Group fell by 3.94 per cent and Kazakhmys was down by 4.01 per cent.
Asian markets fell on uncertainty over the US plan, with airline stocks and financials leading the falls.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell 2.7 per cent to 19,108.85 and on mainland China, the Shanghai Composite index fell one per cent to 2,214.97.