Financial News

LONDON (ShareCast) - 1630 close: Footsie (news) closed the day nursing triple-digit losses as investors took fright following poor US monthly jobs figures. WPP (LSE: WPP.L - news) was the day's worst performer as Citigroup (NYSE: C - news) downgraded the UK advertising firm to sell from hold. Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO.L - news) also fell despite a strong response to its $15.2bn rights issue. Shareholders have taken up 96.97% of the shares offered to them, with major shareholder Chinalco has taken up its entitlement in full. London Stock Exchange (LSE: LSE.L - news) fell after it announced a new pricing scheme yesterday. The stock market operator says the new tariff would have resulted in £3m worth of trading fee reductions between January and March. FTSE 100 down 106 points to 4234.

1530: Footsie has been knocked sideways by the US jobs numbers, up to which point it had been a routine dull day. Now only Friends Provident, Diageo (LSE: DGE.L - news) and Petrofac (LSE: PFC.L - news) are in the blue. WPP, 3i and Rio Tinto are bearing the brunt of the selling. Miners are the weakest sector. FTSE 100 down 98 at 4,242.

1410: Shares after tumbling after grim US jobs figures. The number of people losing their jobs rose in June to 467,000, higher than expected, while the unemployment rate rose slightly to 9.5%. WPP, Schroders (LSE: SDR.L - news) and LSE are leading the market lower. Diageo and Friends Provident remain the best of the risers. FTSE 100 down 79 at 4,262.

1200: Footsie remains in the doldrums with buyers sitting on the sidelines. Diageo is the best performer after its restructuring proposals yesterday. Life groups Friends Provident and Legal & General (3166.KL - news) are also going well. WPP, LSE and Lonmin (LSE: LMI.L - news) are propping the index up. FTSE 100 down 34 at 4,306.

0945: London's top stocks are still in the red. The London Stock Exchange is the biggest faller, followed closely by Schroders. WPP Group is also down on a broker downgrade. The major risers so far are Friends Provident, Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO.L - news) and Inmarsat (LSE: ISAT.L - news) . FTSE 100 is down 36 points to 4305.

0825: London's top stocks have dropped in early dealings Thursday after Wall Street steadily declined from morning highs on Wednesday. Specialist computer and video games retailer Game Group (LSE: GMG.L - news) is leading the FTSE 250 (news) lower after reporting a 15.4% drop in like for like sales. FTSE 100 is down 39 points at 4,301.