Financial News

LONDON (ShareCast) - 1430: Footsie (news) is still deep in the red but off session lows and back above the 5,000 mark after US stocks opened only slightly lower. The Dow is currently down 25 points after Warren Buffett splashed out $44bn in cash and shares on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad. FTSE 100 is down 87 points at 5,017.

1322: A handful of FTSE 100 constituents are now in positive territory, among them Inmarsat (LSE: ISAT.L - news) , Serco, Reed Elsevier (LSE: REL.L - news) , Morrisons and bid stock Cadbury (LSE: CBRY.L - news) . Fashion chain Next is also wanted ahead of a trading statement tomorrow. Investors still have their barge-poles at the ready for mining and financial stocks, however. FTSE 100 is down 69 at 5,015.

1250: The FTSE 100 is down 95 at 5,008 as RBS (LSE: RBS.L - news) trades 9% lower at 35p, joined deep in the red by insurers Old Mutual (LSE: OML.L - news) , Aviva (LSE: AV.L - news) and Prudential. Miners also continue to struggle. Xstrata (LSE: XTA.L - news) , ENRC and Lonmin (LSE: LMI.L - news) are unloved. Four blue chips have managed gains - Serco, Inmarsat, Reed and Cadbury. The Dow Jones is seen opening about 59 points lower. Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A - news) is buying Burlington Northern Santa Fe railway for $44bn, or $100 a share.

1050: London's top stocks have dropped below the 5,000 mark, with the index down more than 100 points or 2%. Miners continue to lead the fallers, while Royal Bank of Scotland is also among the worst performers, having lost more than 4% on this morning's news. FTSE 100 is down 109 points at 4,996.

0937: News that the UK construction PMI index has fallen to 46.2 in October is not helping London's blue chips. FTSE 100 is down 78 at 5,026.

0835: Massive new capital injections for Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds plus a weak start of the miners have added up to a poor start for Footsie. Between them, RBS and Lloyds will get a further £47bn with RBS also having an £8bn contingency if things go even further awry. Lloyds has responded well, but RBS, which is also selling a swathe of businesses is lower. Old Mutual, Kazakhmys (LSE: KAZ.L - news) and Lonmin have also fallen. FTSE 100 down 75 at 5,029.