London midday: Financials pull markets lower after Hester exit from RBS

Uncertainty regarding central-bank stimulus, reductions in global growth forecasts and the surprise departure of the head of one of the UK's biggest domestic banks prompted a sell-off on the FTSE 100 on Thursday, as volatility continued on markets across the globe.London's benchmark index slumped to an intraday low of 6,206 in morning trade (before bouncing back slightly), a level not seen since late January as the sharp decline in recent weeks pared the year-to-date rise to less than 6.0%.Continuing concerns regarding the Federal Reserve's 'exit strategy' from stimulus and an underwhelming policy statement from the Bank of Japan (BoJ) have weighed heavily on markets this week. This, combined with a strengthening yen, saw Japan's Nikkei index plummet by 6.35% on Thursday, with the Japanese currency rising to a two-month high against the dollar.Research Analyst Joshua Mahony from Alpari said that the BoJ's aggressive easing programme unveiled in April to end deflation has left Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with a "highly expectant audience and very little left he can do to appease the markets"."The increased volatility in the markets over the recent period highlights the fragility of recent stock market highs, based largely upon easing measures and very little strong economic basis," Mahony said.Markets were also hit yesterday by renewed fears about political tension in Greece following reports of an emergency cabinet meeting in Greece and rumours of a potential vote of confidence for Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.Dampening sentiment further was the World Bank which yesterday cut its forecast for global economic growth to 2.2% in 2013, down from its initial 2.4% estimate in January. Meanwhile, the bank said it now expects China to grow by just 7.7% this year, down from its previous 8.4% prediction.FTSE 100: RBS drops after Hester's surprise exitAs expected, RBS tanked early on after announcing late last night that Stephen Hester will step down as CEO after five years. The boss, praised widely for his work for turning the bank around following its government bailout in 2008, said he was stepping aside as the lender prepares for a re-privatisation. RBS also announced plans to cut up to 2,000 investment-banking jobs as part of its ongoing restructuring. Sector peers Barclays, Lloyds, HSBC and Standard Chartered were also in the red.Other financials were also out of favour this morning, including Aberdeen Asset Management, Old Mutual, Legal & General, Reoslution, Hargreaves Lansdown and Standard Life. FTSE 250: Home Retail drops sharplyHomebase and Argos owner Home Retail slumped early on as both chains suffered a decline in margins in the first quarter. Nevertheless, CEO Terry Duddy said that overall the group's trading has been consistent with the board's expectations.Retail WH Smith fell after saying that sales in the third quarter were down 5.0%, while like-for-like sales fell by 6.0%.WS Atkins, the engineering and product management consultancy, said that a strong performance in the UK was offset by continued challenging markets elsewhere as it posted flat revenues for the year ended March 31st. However the bottom line did come in ahead of market expectations, helping shares to rise this morning.FTSE 100 - RisersEvraz (EVR) 121.50p +6.86%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 239.00p +2.44%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,092.00p +2.15%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,728.00p +1.41%Polymetal International (POLY) 636.00p +1.27%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,784.00p +1.25%Antofagasta (ANTO) 889.50p +1.14%Aggreko (AGK) 1,670.00p +1.09%Anglo American (AAL) 1,388.00p +0.98%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,270.00p +0.71%FTSE 100 - FallersRoyal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 306.80p -5.77%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 388.20p -3.55%Experian (EXPN) 1,133.00p -3.00%Old Mutual (OML) 178.80p -2.93%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,157.00p -2.77%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 166.80p -2.57%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 272.70p -2.43%Weir Group (WEIR) 2,131.00p -2.29%Standard Life (SL.) 355.70p -2.17%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 890.00p -2.14%FTSE 250 - RisersAtkins (WS) (ATK) 917.50p +4.26%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 295.80p +1.96%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 130.80p +1.87%Pennon Group (PNN) 672.50p +1.82%Petropavlovsk (POG) 136.30p +1.79%PZ Cussons (PZC) 370.20p +1.31%Fidessa Group (FDSA) 1,908.00p +1.01%Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 622.00p +0.81%Halma (HLMA) 506.50p +0.80%Savills (SVS) 614.50p +0.74%FTSE 250 - FallersHome Retail Group (HOME) 129.60p -10.06%Unite Group (UTG) 327.60p -5.73%888 Holdings (888) 139.20p -5.37%Bodycote (BOY) 503.00p -4.46%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 266.90p -4.20%JPMorgan Indian Inv Trust (JII) 338.60p -3.86%Computacenter (CCC) 450.80p -3.65%Perform Group (PER) 549.50p -3.60%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 96.10p -3.37%Informa (INF) 468.30p -3.32%