Libyan crisis hits FTSE opening

London’s FTSE 100 Index sunk another 1.3% into the red following hefty falls in Asia as the Libyan crisis battered investor confidence.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled 2% overnight, hit also by Moody’s decision to downgrade Japan’s credit rating for the first time in nearly nine years.

European shares followed suit, with the FTSE 100 Index down 75.3 points to 5939.5.

Fears also continued to mount over world oil supplies on concerns that Libya’s crude exports of 1 million barrels a day could be affected as foreign oil companies evacuate staff from the country.

Brent crude for April delivery gained 1.21 dollars to 106.95 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

The fuel price worries sent airline stocks lower, with British Airways group International Consolidated Airlines down 2% or 5p to 234.6p.

Budget rival easyJet fell 11.7p to 365.3p in the FTSE 250.

Miners were among those hit the most in the sell-off, led by Lonmin and Xstrata down 41.5p to 1799.5p and 34p to 1377p respectively.

Elsewhere, car dealership group Pendragon rose 2%, ahead 0.4p to 23.9p, after more than doubling annual underlying profits in 2010 to £25.2 million.