Reply #43: London falls after US data sends dollar lower still [View All]

http://mwprices.ft.com/custom/ft2-com/html-story.asp?dateid=39052.5383564815-885308615&guid={505EC99B-A594-4E32-A7DC-F63F345FBDB5}

London’s FTSE 100 fell half-a-per cent after weaker-than-expected US manufacturing data pushed the dollar to a fresh 14-year low against the pound. The index slipped as low as 5,985.2, the first time it has fallen below the 6,000 mark in two months, ending at 6,021.5.

Leading dollar earners were marked lower. AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical company, fell 2.1 per cent to £28.90, Hanson, the aggregates group, lost 1.4 per cent to 719p, while Carnival dropped 1.9 per cent to £24.29. The cruise operator was also hit by a downgrade from “buy” to “hold” from Merrill Lynch, which warned of a weakness in its brand in the Caribbean.

The FTSE 250 closed up 25 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 10,698.9, up 0.2 per cent on the week.

Did somebody say, schadenfreude?