The London FTSE 100 will be a seeking a quick recovery when traders return on Monday after Europes biggest stock market plunged nearly eight percent to six-year lows this week. Londons FTSE 100 index of leading shares ended the week down 7.82 percent, or almost 300 points, to 3,530.73 points, compared with the previous Friday.
The FTSE 100 had on Tuesday closed at its lowest level for six years by hitting 3,512.09 points, as markets world-wide were unsettled by fears for the world financial system and the ability of governments to overcome a deepening recession.
In Britain, "manufacturing data and survey continue to be dire, with the sector being hit very hard by sharply contracting domestic demand, deteriorating activity in key export markets, persistent very tight credit conditions and intense competition," said IHS Global Insight economist Howard Archer.
The Bank of England, seeking to combat Britains first recession in 18 years, said Thursday that it would pump out 75 billion pounds of newly created money after slashing interest rates to a record-low 0.5 percent. In an extraordinary move, the BoE said it would issue the equivalent of 106 billion dollars or 84 billion euros via so-called "quantitative easing" measures.
The Bank of England plans to buy government bonds from commercial banks in the hope that the institutions will again lend in vast quantities to businesses and individuals after sitting tight since the credit crisis erupted in 2007.
British economic data on the radar next week will include industrial production on Tuesday and trade figures on Wednesday. Meanwhile, finance ministers from the group of G-20 developed and developing nations will gather in London late in the week to discuss the global economic crisis ahead of a leaders summit two weeks later.
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