October 5, 2002	Saturday	Rajab 27, 1423

LONDON, Oct 4: Weakness in banks and drugs sent Britain’s FTSE 100 share index lower on Friday amid fears about the earnings prospects for both sectors, while a slide on Wall Street on earnings and economic worries piled on pressure.

But shares in publisher Pearson bucked a gloomy trend in the media sector to lead the blue-chip risers with a six per cent gain after it lifted its education growth outlook.

The FTSE 100 index closed down 66.5 points, or 1.7 per cent, at 3,813.8, above a session low at 3,793.7. The index has lost over two per cent this week and was standing just over five per cent above the 3,626-point intraday low reached in late July.

Fallers outnumbered gainers by around three to one in turnover of 2.3bn shares, boosted by heavy dealing in the banking sector. Weakness in US shares weighed on London’s market as an initial rally on better-than-expected unemployment data faded as investors focused on a surprise drop in payrolls outside the US farm sector.

By the close of London’s markets the Dow Jones industrial average was down 1.8pc, while the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite had slipped 1.4pc.—Reuters