Britain's top share index ended down 1.9 percent on Tuesday, led by commodity stocks as metal and crude prices fell, and by banks on uncertainty over a proposed US package to rescue the financial sector. The FTSE 100 closed 100.1 points lower at 5,136.1, but well off its day's low of 5,076.3.
The UK benchmark lost 1.4 percent on Monday, and is down 20.5 percent for the year. Banks were among the standout losers, with Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds TSB, HBOS and Standard Chartered losing between 2 and 13.8 percent.
US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told the Congress that financial markets are under severe stress and urged immediate action to buy up hundreds of billions of dollars worth of tainted mortgage assets. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson also called on the Congress not to weigh down the proposed bailout with unrelated provisions that would delay addressing key issues.
"We are clearly going to remain in a period of volatility, but not the intensity we saw last week. I remain convinced the $700 billion deal will get through, will get all parties support," said Howard Wheeldon, senior strategist at BGC Partners.
"I can quite understand the sabre rattling, I can quite understand the accountability issues that are being raised. But it won't be enough to hold this on its track. There will be ample support for this one to get through by the end of this week," he said. In the United Kingdom, the British Bankers' Association said mortgage approvals fell 64 percent on the year to a record low in August, suggesting no end was in sight for the country's housing market woes.
Hedge fund Man Group closed the day down 8.2 percent. Traders said its omission from the list of stocks in which short-selling is banned raised the chance it will be targeted, while at the same time the list limits its ability to generate revenue by shorting other stocks. Miners sagged along with weaker metal prices. BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Anglo American, Xstrata, Vedanta Resources and Eurasian Natural Resources shed between 3 percent and 11.4 percent.
Among energy stocks, BP, BG Group, Cairn Energy and Tullow Oil fell between 1.8 percent and 4.6 percent. Elsewhere, among retailers, Marks & Spencer lost 1.9 percent after Deutsche Bank downgraded its rating on the retailer to "hold" from "buy", traders said, with some suggesting the sector could be the next to come under pressure from short-selling.
"The feeling is that since short-selling has been banned on financials, it looks like retailers and housebuilders are the next," said Chris Hossain, senior sales manager at ODL Securities. Within the retail sector, Next dropped 4.4 percent and Kingfisher sagged 5.9 percent. International Power added 2.4 percent after Citigroup upgraded the stock to "buy" from "hold". Imperial Tobacco, British American Tobacco and Unilever were also up as they were seen as defensives.
Among mid-caps, Mitchells & Butlers shed 6.2 percent after the pubs operator warned it faced rising costs next year and will need to accelerate sales growth to maintain profits. Rival Punch Taverns slumped 13 percent. Tate & Lyle sank more than 11 percent after the sugar and sweetener group said it had lost a US patent case against manufacturers and importers of Chinese sucralose.
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