Afternoon Markets: FTSE slides below 5,000 on weak economy fears

The FTSE 100 has fallen below the 5,000 point barrier for the first time since 10 September.

Investors cheered as the index rose above the psychologically important barrier last month, but this afternoon the main London index was down 52.35 points (1.04%) to 4,995.46.

RBS shares were the biggest loser, despite announcing Aviva's CFO will join the board next month, down 7.93% to 46.54p. Lloyds Banking Group followed, dropping 5.13% to 94.14p.

Invensys shares shed 4.43% to 274.3p after Citigroup downgraded the firm from ‘buy' to ‘hold'.

On Wall Street, shares continued to fall as markets opened as investors remained cautious following yesterday's weak economic data.

Manufacturers weighted on the main Dow Jones index, which dropped 46.48 points (0.49%) to 9,462.8.

General Electric led the manufacturing slump after figures released yesterday revealed the sector had seen little improvement in output, down 3.76% to $15.37. Boeing and Caterpillar followed, down 2.78% and 1.92% respectively.

Coca-Cola continued to benefit from a Citigroup upgrade of its shares, adding 1.02% to $53.66.