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Thursday, August 20, 2015

The FTSE is now 10% off its peak – entering a 'correction'

The UK's main share index fell 0.56% today – the eighth time in a row. Shares briefly went positive on hopes the US Federal Reserve will postpone a long-awaited interest rate hike, but then dropped back down on news Greece may call snap elections next month. However, Britain's stock market could be in for a sharp drop tomorrow morning as Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras is reportedly resigning and Greece will hold snap elections on September 20.  The FTSE, with all its internationally positioned companies, is a good reflection of how investors view the global economy.  As it stands, people aren't signalling optimism. The FTSE 100 now stands at 6,367.89, the lowest level since January, entering a correction phase. It's fallen around 10% since hitting an all-time high of 7,104 in April. A bear market, where greed turns to fear, is technically a 20% fall from a market's peak. So we're not far off. The market has fallen every day since China devalued its currency last week, which was the latest sign that one of the main engines of global growth – China's economic surge – is coming to an end. Despite this, it should also be noted that trading in shares is generally thin in August, which is traditionally a holiday month, meaning the stock market is more prone to volatile swings. How the index performs in September, with the dual threat of a rate hike and uncertainty in Europe caused by Greek elections will be a sharper measure of what traders think of the world's growth prospects. Here's the chart: Leading the falls were companies going ex-dividend, passing the time cut-off for payouts to shareholders. British American Tobacco, Mondi and Hammerson all fell around 2%-3%. Shares in mining companies rallied after days of losses. Randgold Resources was up over 5% while Anglo American climbed more than 4%.Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: The 'Uber of helicopters' can get you from Manhattan to JFK for much less than you think


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT uk.businessinsider.com