London afternoon: Footsie sinks below 5,000

The FTSE 100 has plunged below 5,000 for the first time in over six months as markets continue to fret about Europe's sovereign debt crisis and potential financial regulation.London's leading index sank below the big figure just after midday. It hasn't been this low since early November and hasn't closed below 5,000 since October.Banks including Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking, Standard Chartered and HSBC are sharply lower, though brewer SABMiller staggered to the top of the losers' league following yesterday's results.The destruction could have been worse but for strength among the mining heavyweights, as metal prices improved. Investors piled into Xstrata, Fresnillo, ENRC, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto.BP is also weak on reports it has underestimated the extent of the leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Both houses of Germany's parliament approved the country's €148bn share of a €750bn eurozone rescue package Friday. Chancellor Angela Merkel had called for lawmakers' approval, warning that Europe is facing its greatest crisis in decades.Markets in the eurozone fared no better. Frankfurt is down 131 points, or 2.5%, and Paris trades 52 points, or 2%, lower. In the UK, British Airways record pre-tax loss of £531m is providing some distraction from Europe's woes. The carrier was hit by strike action, bad winter weather disruption and the impact from the global recession. The pre-tax loss in the year ended 31 March compares with a £401m loss last year. Revenue fell by £1bn to £7,994m (2009: £8,992m).Merchant bank Close Brothers remains confident of delivering a solid overall result for the 2010 financial year after a good third quarter performance. The group's Banking and Securities divisions both put in good shifts in the February to April quarter - the group's third quarter - while the outcome at the Asset Management division was more modest.London Stock Exchange called its full-year performance "resilient" despite a 21% drop in full-year profit before one-off items. The profit before acquisition amortization and exceptional costs fell to £242m in the year to 31 March from £304.7m in 2009, reflecting costs from the acquisition of MillenniumIT. Total profit was £114.3m compared with a £250.8m loss last time when the numbers were hit by a £555m one-off charge. Oil and gas firm Soco International said that a rig has been secured for an appraisal drilling on its Te Giac Den discovery. The company has been informed by the Hoang Long joint operating company, operator of Block 16-1 in the Cuu Long Basin offshore Vietnam, that the jack up rig Maersk Convincer has been secured to drill the Te Giac Den 2X appraisal well. Higher borrowing costs knocked United Utilities profits last year despite an increase in the contribution from the core water business. Pre-tax profits in the year to March fell to £474m from £529m, with underlying profits coming in at £500m against £531m, slightly below forecasts.Trading in the shares of online betting group Leisure & Gaming has been suspended while the company seeks to resolve cash flow difficulties. The company said that football results have continued to go against the company's book and this has dented profitability and hit the company's cash position. As a result the company now finds itself constrained by a lack of working capital.Speciality pharmaceuticals company BTG exceeded its financial goals in fiscal 2009/10 as it moved solidly into the black. Profit before tax in the year to end-March 2010 totalled £9.1m, compared to a loss of £11.3m in the preceding year.Fund manager Rensburg Sheppards boosted funds under management to £12.9bn from £10bn in the year to March.