Published on 24th March 2014
1630:Close Stocks finished firmly lower today as concerns over mounting geopolitical tensions in western Europe and fears of slowing growth in China ensured a lack of confidence amongst investors. Chinese PMI dropped to 48.1 this month from 48.5 in February, marking the fifth consecutive fall for the index and missing the market’s estimate for 49.7, while Eurozone PMI fell from 53.3 to 53.2, as expected. Meanwhile, the ongoing Ukraine crisis stepped up a gear over the weekend on reports of Russian troops storming more bases in Crimea following a referendum and subsequent annexation of the region last week. In company news, Investec upgraded Lloyds from ‘hold’ to ‘buy’, sending it into the top spot. The FTSE 100 closed down 36.78 points at 6,520.39.