Morning Markets: FTSE falls on threat of Fed support withdrawal

The FTSE has tumbled 0.76% this morning, as the markets reacted to suggestions the US Federal Reserve is preparing to remove stimulus measures.

London’s blue-chip index is down 39.24 points at 5100.13. Consumer cyclicals are bearing the brunt, with technology and engineering group GKN down 1.49% at 112.2p while kitchen cabinet business Galiform is 1.04% behind at 71.4p. The banks are also being weighed down ahead of today’s G20 meeting which is set to discuss banking reform. RBS is down 2.67% at 51.05p while Lloyds is lagging by 1.19% at 107.6p. Meanwhile the London Stock Exchange has plummeted 3.01% to 853p on the back of a 12% staff cut and a 15% year-on-year fall in demand for computers showing live LSE data. In T...