The London stock market had its busiest day ever after bomb blasts rocked London, it emerged over the weekend.
Thousands of investors made millions of pounds by buying shares as the FTSE 100 Index fell 200 points and then watching it rebound sharply the day after.
The number of transactions broke a record during the day, hitting about 350,000 against an average in the last quarter of about 300,000, a London Stock Exchange spokesman said. In terms of the number of trades, it was the busiest day we have ever had, he said.
Investors traded 4.75 billion shares compared to the recent daily average of about 3.1 billion.
Financial spreadbetting firm City Index reportedly said more than 8,000 retail investors dived into the market on Thursday, allowing the FTSE to recover more than 100 points by the close.
On Friday, the market ended the session at similar levels to those seen before the blasts on Thursday morning. Automatic trading systems used by institutional investors began dumping stock when shares fell sharply on news of the blasts, creating an opportunity for other investors.
Despite the awful news, a considerable amount of people were trading and making a lot of money, the Sunday Times quoted City Index chief executive Clive Cooke as saying. 'We were deluged with buyers, it was mayhem'.
However, City authorities reportedly considered closing the City down after news of the blasts on the Tube at Aldgate East, King's Cross, Edgware Road and on a bus at Tavistock Place.
A committee of officials from the Treasury, the Bank of England and the chief city watchdog, the Financial Services Authority, held urgent telephone talks to decide whether to suspend market trading after the attacks, the Observer reported. Members of the committee eventually took no action after deciding the attacks had not jeopardised market stability.
A Bank of England spokeswoman said: 'The committee did hold conference calls on Thursday to talk to major City institutions, infrastructure providers and each other about the situation, but the markets worked smoothly'.
However, the blasts could cause more misery for beleaguered retailers, another report said. Analysts expect visits to the capital's stores to have slumped by up to 50% this weekend as shoppers stay away, the Independent on Sunday reported. Retailers in the capital could lose billions as a result of the tragedies, although it is predicted that tourism in the capital will return to normal in four to five months.
