LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Slides Below 4,000 In Broad Sell-off; Anglo Slumps

By Sarah Turner

London shares fell heavily on Friday morning, with the top index trading firmly below the key 4,000 level, as banks, oil producers and mineral extractors all declined sharply.

The U.K. FTSE 100 index fell 2.1%, or 85.97 points, to 3,932.40.

The index has been trading around the 4,000 level this week but has managed to close above this key level. The last time it closed below 4,000 was in November last year.

Other European shares also trading lower, while U.S. stock futures were pointing to another day of losses across the Atlantic.

On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at a level not seen for more than six years, ending down 1.2% at 7,465.95, as financials fronted the decline.

Banks also fell in London on Friday, with HSBC Holdings (HBC) down 1.6%, Royal Bank of Scotland down 4.1% and Barclays (BCS) down 5%.

On Friday, the purchasing managers indexes for the manufacturing and services sectors signal that activity contracted at a record pace across the euro zone in February. The euro zone is a major trading partner of the U.K.

Mineral extractors were also sharply lower, with Rio Tinto (RTP) shares down 7%, Xstrata shares down 7.6% and Lonmin shares down 6.3%.

Anglo American shares fell 11.3% after it suspended dividend payments and share buybacks and said that a global headcount reduction of 19,000 is under way. Anglo's annual profit dropped 29%.

"As we begin 2009, the economic outlook remains weak, with limited visibility and we are continuing to experience volatility and downward pressure on commodity prices," said CEO Cynthia Carroll.

Prudential bucks lower trend

Insurer Prudential (PUK) advanced 7.9% after it disclosed a move to boost its capital.

It said that it has agreed to transfer the assets and liabilities of its agency distribution business and its agency force in Taiwan to China Life Insurance Company for a nominal sum. At the same time, it will invest 45 million pounds to purchase a 9.95% stake in China Life through a share placement.

On completion of the transfer to China Life, there will be a net increase in Prudential's capital surplus of approximately 800 million pounds.

Prudential said that at the end of 2008, its capital surplus was approximately 1.7 billion pounds.

Turning to smaller financial-sector company news, shares of subprime lender Cattles fell 47.2% after it warned that its pretax profit is expected to be "substantially lower" than current market expectations.

The group said it is delaying the release of its 2008 preliminary results while it reviews the adequacy of the impairment provisions it has taken and a new date for the results will be announced in due course.