After a positive start, a lurch into loss-filled territory for the miners, a widening fall for BP and Shell, and a sector-wide slide for the banks helped drag the FTSE lower this afternoon. The UK index dropped by 15 points as the day went on, keeping it trapped below 7200. Things were similar in the Eurozone, were the DAX and CAC’s earlier gains were replaced with a rouged-flatness; the French index saw the most significant change, losing all of the 0.7% growth it had posted during the morning to slip into the red by 0.1%.
The change in tone this Wednesday can be in part attributed to the negative start from the Dow Jones. The Dow fell around 40 points after the bell, its financial sector providing most of the downwards drag.
