London close: Eurozone worries dampen UK stocks

- Stocks dragged down by Eurozone concerns- International Power receives approach from GDF Suez- FirstGroup plummets after gloomy updateLondon's FTSE 100 index sank to its lowest levels of the day by the close of trade on Thursday with Eurozone worries once again in focus as bond yields in Italy and Spain pushed higher. The Footsie finished 1.15 per cent lower at 5,742, the first time it has closed below the 5,800 level in over three weeks. Providing downward pressure on the markets today was the European Commission's economic sentiment index for the Eurozone, which fell slightly from 94.5 in February to 94.4 in March. Consensus forecasts were for an unchanged reading month-on-month.The head of sovereign ratings at Standard and Poor's, the credit ratings agency, further depressed investors by suggesting that a further Greek restructuring may be necessary, possibly involving public as opposed to private sector creditors.Friday will be the big day for European markets as it kicks off the two-day informal meeting of the ministers for Economic and Financial Affairs, better known as Ecofin. For some time now, the finance ministers from the 27 member European Union have been expected to discuss and make a final decision on possible adjustments to the European bailout fund. Ratings agency Fitch today cut its global economic growth forecasts for 2012 and 2013 by 0.1 percentage point each to 2.3% and 2.9, respectively. In its latest report on the global economy, the agency assured that the major developed economies will remain weak this year. It does not rule out a recession for the first half of the year before growth picks up modestly in 2013. Meanwhile, UK ECONOMYTotal lending to individuals rose by £1.6bn in February, according to data just released by the Bank of England (BoE). Consensus estimates were for a rise of £1.4bn.House prices in the United Kingdom fell by 1.0% month-on-month and 0.9% year-on-year in March, according to the latest data from mortgage lender Nationwide. The consensus estimates were for rises of 0.3% month-on-month and 0.8% year-on-year. INT'L POWER SURGES ON GDF APPROACHUK utility giant International Power was the standout performer of the day, rising nearly 6% after it confirmed that it has received a non-binding indicative proposal from French electricity giant GDF Suez to buy-up the remaining 30% stake in the firm. The 390p-a-share cash approach is a slight premium to yesterday's closing price of 383.4p and values the business at just under £20bn. Investors seemed to shrug off a late announcement that a strike by 16,000 workers has halted the construction of its Jirau hydro project in the state of Rondonia, Brazil. Cigarettes maker Imperial Tobacco was making gains after saying it improved its revenue and profit momentum as it entered the second half of its financial year. First half reported tobacco net revenues (at constant exchange rates) are expected to increase by around 3%, compared with the 1% fall in the three months to the end of December. Vodafone was another riser after it, along with Tata Communications, was given three more weeks to make a formal offer for Cable and Wireless Worldwide. Leading the downside were the banks with Barclays, RBS and Standard Chartered tracking their European counterparts lower - the STOXX Europe 600 Banks index was down 2.76% by the close. Sector peer Lloyds announced that it is selling its onshore Dubai business to HSBC Bank Middle East. The sale, which comes as part of Lloyds' plan to reduce its international presence, includes the group's retail, commercial and corporate banking business in the area. Both Lloyds and HSBC finished down nearly 3% each.FTSE 250: FIRSTGROUP LEADS TRANSPORT STOCKS LOWERThe Department of Transport has announced the runners and riders for the three rail franchises it has up for renewal. Despite a few major players being selected, stocks seemed to be dampened by a gloomy trading update from FirstGroup, which finished the day down 14%. Stagecoach, Go-Ahead and National Express were all registering heavy losses by the close.FirstGroup said this morning that lower economic activity in the north of England is putting pressure on its UK Bus business. The group said like-for-like revenues in UK Bus, in the 12 months to the end of March, will be 1.5% ahead of 2010-2011. The North of England and Scotland however are seeing "considerably lower" growth rates and that's where 60% of revenues are generated. Meanwhile, online gaming firm bwin.party digital entertainment leapt into the top spot after it posted a robust set of full year earnings and said it believes it is well placed to take advantage of regulatory and technological shifts in its industry. FTSE 100 - RisersInternational Power (IPR) 405.00p +5.63%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,375.50p +1.79%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,557.00p +1.47%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 258.10p +0.51%Vodafone Group (VOD) 174.45p +0.43%Aggreko (AGK) 2,236.00p +0.36%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,122.00p +0.36%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,300.00p +0.35%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 178.60p +0.22%Meggitt (MGGT) 398.60p +0.15%FTSE 100 - FallersBarclays (BARC) 234.15p -4.66%Aviva (AV.) 325.10p -3.42%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,698.00p -3.14%CRH (CRH) 1,250.00p -3.10%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 33.42p -2.93%Wolseley (WOS) 2,375.00p -2.86%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 373.20p -2.86%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 27.83p -2.73%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,538.50p -2.66%Tesco (TSCO) 328.10p -2.57%FTSE 250 - RisersBwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 156.40p +6.98%3i Group (III) 209.70p +2.79%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 49.80p +2.57%Drax Group (DRX) 536.50p +2.29%Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI) (GEMD) 280.30p +1.93%Paragon Group Of Companies (PAG) 185.60p +1.48%Computacenter (CCC) 442.10p +1.31%Ruspetro (RPO) 205.00p +1.28%Salamander Energy (SMDR) 217.00p +1.21%Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 285.00p +1.21%FTSE 250 - FallersFirstGroup (FGP) 247.40p -14.42%Petropavlovsk (POG) 585.00p -5.80%Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 1,230.00p -5.46%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 138.60p -5.20%National Express Group (NEX) 239.20p -5.08%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 138.50p -4.48%Balfour Beatty (BBY) 284.40p -4.37%Northgate (NTG) 207.00p -4.08%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 139.40p -4.06%Spectris (SXS) 1,743.00p -3.86%BC