FTSE 100 down 1.9 , FTSE 250 off 3
Benchmark index set for worst day since March 2023 amid broader declines
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Aug 5 Reuters London39;s FTSE 100 plunged over 1.5 on Monday to hit their lowest in over three months, as recession fears in the United States triggered a global selloff.

By 0722 GMT, the bluechip FTSE 100 index fell 1.9 to its lowest since April and on track for its worst day since March 2023.

Meanwhile, the midcap FTSE 250 index was off 3, after clocking its worst day since September 2022 in the previous session.

Friday39;s data showed a sharp slowdown in U.S. job growth, heightening fears of a deterioration in the American labour market and a potential recession, pushing investors to raise bets on a halfpoint cut in September by the Federal Reserve to rescue the economy.

A lot of it comes from faith that the Federal Reserve has gone a little bit too far with its monetary policy in terms of keeping rates restrictive for too long. That negative sentiment has spilled over into other markets, said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.

In London, most subsectoral indexes trended lower. Automobile and parts were the worst hit with a 3.9 decline, while precious metal miners trended 3.2 lower despite a firming in gold prices.

Financial stocks like banks and life insurers declined 3.1 and 3.7 respectively.

If we do see a recession, banks get hit quite hard because people start to…