12:11pm Wednesday 8th September 2010
FEARS over the eurozone’s economic recovery sparked a fall in US markets yesterday, while highprofile promotions and departures in the banking world received a mixed response in the UK.
Wall Street’s Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.4 per cent, after official figures showed a bigger-thanexpected drop in German manufacturing orders in July of 2.2 per cent monthon- month.
The FTSE 100 Index was down 33 points to 5405 after Barclays announced American-born Bob Diamond will replace John Varley as chief executive and HSBC said chairman Stephen Green was leaving for a Government post as trade minister.
The appointment of the Barclays Capital boss was met with caution in the City amid worries it could increase emphasis on the riskier investment banking operation. Barclays saw shares drop 8p to 314p.
HSBC shares initially saw a good run after Mr Green announced his departure, but they later dropped 2.1p to 660.7p.
Other movers in the banking sector included Royal Bank of Scotland, which fell 1.1p to 45.8p.
Markets on both sides of the Atlantic were unnerved by a report in the Wall Street Journal which claimed the EU stress tests of 91 banks in July understated some holdings of potentially risky debt.
Meanwhile, a cautious note on the retail sector from brokers at HSBC meant a number of stocks in the sector were under pressure.
HSBC lowered its price targets on Next and Home Retail Group, which fell 16p to 2035p and 4.6p to 222.5p respectively, while Marks and Spencer was 4.8p cheaper at 354.9p.
A shortened risers board featured supermarket chain Morrisons, which lifted 0.7p to 290.1p ahead of half-year results on Thursday.
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