UK: FTSE sees red over 2000

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BBC

Thursday, 28 December, 2000, 23:43 GMT FTSE sees red over 2000

It has been a turbulent year for stocks and shares The leading indicator of UK stockmarket performance - the FTSE 100 share index - looks set to close down on the year in one of the index's most volatile 12 months on record.

It would only be the third time that the index, which tracks the value of Britain's leading shares, has closed at a lower level at the end of the year since it was first compiled in 1984.

However billions of pounds has been wiped from the stockmarket value of British companies this year.

Telecom, media and technology firms were worst hit, with British Telecom shares losing more than half their value.

If the index closes down on Friday as expected, it will be the first time it has been down on the year for six years.

It has not been a steady slide, as there have been wild swings in the index in one of the London Stock Exchange's most volatile trading years yet recorded.

For the year 2000, investors would have been better off putting their money in a savings account, but financial advisors say they should not panic.

They say shares should be seen as a long-term investment, and investment banks are already predicting that 2002 will be a much more lucrative year on the markets.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), December 28, 2000


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