Morning Markets: Banks and miners weigh on FTSE

The FTSE 100 plunged sharply in morning trading, as banks and mining stocks dragged the index down.

The index dropped more than 25 points (0.50%) to 5,056.90.

Lloyds banking group fell 3.34% to 99p as Alistair Darling pledged afresh to cut down on bank bonuses. Kazakhmys shares dropped 3.13% to £10.22 after the price of commodities fell back.

Wolseley headed up the winners table, adding 6.42% to £13.93. Despite the Builders supplies specialist recorded losses in excess of £1bn last year, the company reported underlying profits ahead of forecasts.

Pharma performed well with AstraZeneca up 1.56% to £27.94 after the US appeal court upheld the company's infringement claim against generic competitors, while GlaxoSmithKline added 1.38% to £12.44.

Elsewhere, Home Retail Group declined 3.88% to 274p.

The Dow Jones also posted sluggish trading, down 42.45 points (0.44%) to 9,665.19, with food giants McDonalds and Coca Cola leading the pack. McDonalds rose by 1.48% to $56.95, while Coca Cola is up 1.20% to $52.97.

Aloca Inc is down 3.18% to $13.08, and Wal-Mart down 2.43% to $49.47.

The Nikkei 225 index closed down 256 points (2.5%) at 10,010 in Tokyo as the yen rose to an eight-month high against the dollar.