FTSE 100 falls to five month low

On Tuesday (June 30th), the FTSE 100 fell towards five-month lows and around the world, markets were weighed down by worries over the Greek crisis.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed down 99.5 points, or 1.5 per cent, at 6,520.98 points. This is nearing its lowest level since late January and came on the back of a two per cent drop on Monday. It is also about eight per cent lower than the record high it reached in April (7,122.74 points) – the latest drop also means gains previously made in 2015 have effectively been 'erased', reports Reuters.

Commenting on the ongoing difficulties in Greece, analyst Harry Shann said: "It's one of the biggest hurdles that the eurozone has faced. We could see the FTSE fall down to 6,400 points this week."

Big losers included insurance company Standard Life, which fell 1.7 per cent and RBC downgraded the company's stock to "underperform" from a previous rating of "sector perform".

Supermarkets also fared poorly in the index. Tesco dropped 2.3 per cent and Sainsbury fell 1.8 per cent. Industry data indicated that both companies had suffered a fall in sales, according to Reuters.

However, shares in Ocado gained 3.7 per cent following the release of the company's latest results. The supermarket delivery company reported pre-tax profits of £7.2 million for the half-year to May 17th. This was slightly down from a year earlier (£7.5 million) but gross sales were up 15.7 per cent to £511.9 million.

European markets

At the close of the day, Germany's Dax index had fallen 1.25 per cent, while the French Cac 40 index dropped 1.6 per cent.

The euro declined 0.8 per cent against the dollar to $1.1148. On Monday, the euro had fallen to a four-week low of $1.0955, although it recovered to above the $1.12 mark before beginning to drop again.

The pound has also gone up 0.85 per cent against the euro to €1.4111. However, it has dropped against the dollar to $1.5719.