Barclays' shares take fresh pummelling
Shares in banking giant Barclays took a fresh pummelling today as investors continued to fret over the outlook for the beleaguered industry.
Barclays bore the brunt of the sector’s latest slump, falling 20% to 57.2p during a volatile start to trading.
Lloyds Banking Group, which dived as much as 47% in a brutal session yesterday, fell 20% before staging a recovery.
The FTSE 100 Index limited losses to 30 points despite a 4% drop for the Dow Jones Industrial Average as investors in the United States got their first chance to react to the deepening crisis in the banking sector.
The Dow is now below 8,000, while the FTSE 100 Index is close to dipping below the 4,000 barrier.
Investors have continued to flee the UK financial sector amid doubts over the British government’s second bank bailout and because of fears that more institutions will need to be nationalised.
Royal Bank of Scotland, which is due to be 70% owned by the British taxpayer, bucked today’s downward trend with a rise of 6%. Shares fell 67% on Monday.
