Nasdaq five-year low hits Europe

Telecoms stocks first to react...

Another bad day on the tech-heavy Nasdaq has seen the index dive to a five-year low. The US index was off by four per cent to 1,403.80 by close overnight, driving it back to the levels of June 1997. When London woke up this morning the FTSE joined its US cousin in the doldrums. As of 11:10(BST) it was down 1.62 per cent, or 75.70 points, to 4,610.10. Across Europe, the early performance of telecoms stocks contributed to an overall dip into the red. Orange lost 3.8 per cent by 11:15(BST) to sit at E4.81 (£3.09) while Nokia fell 2.66 per cent.