ftse 100 index down march 5 2012

ftse 100 index down march 5 2012 : UK stocks were headed south today after the Chinese government reduced its longstanding GDP growth target from eight percent to 7.5 percent for the current year. The FTSE 100 stood at 5,892, down 19 points (0.3 percent) from Friday’s close.

In his annual speech to the parliament, China’s Premier Minister Wen Jiabao also said that the government will work on keeping inflation in check after it reached 5.4 percent, well above the four percent target, which has also been set for 2012.

“The cut in growth target for 2012 from 8 percent to 7.5 percent is not necessarily a surprise but perhaps the fact that it has been cut so deeply echoes existing investor concerns over the pace of slowdown in the world's fastest emerging economy,” said chief market strategist at City Index Joshua Raymond.

“On the other hand, Premier Wen has historically sided with being more conservative in growth targets and so there is the potential for growth to exceed these targets by year end.”

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