FTSE plunges 3%; Sterling falls to year low

The UK's hung parliament on top of the Greek debt crisis weighed heavily on investor sentiment today as the FTSE plunged dramatically in afternoon trading.

As at 16.00 GMT, London's leading share index dropped 2.78%, or 169 points, to 5114 as the indecisive election result combined with persistent fears of Greek contagion to push the index sharply down. Earlier in the afternoon, the index was down more than 3%. Despite posting Q1 profits of £713m, nationalised bank RBS is leading the charge into the red, down 7.96%. Yesterday, ratings agency Moody's warned UK banks could have their credit ratings downgraded because of the poor state of public finances and contagion from the Greek debt crisis. Fears the country has been impacted by the Gr...