LONDON (ShareCast) - Worries over the health of the US mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have pulled the bank from under the UK banks today.

Sentiment has not been helped by a warning from former IMF chief economist Kenneth Rogoff that a sizeable US bank is likely to go under in the next few months. He added that Freddie Mac and Fannie would also probably not exist in their current form in a few years time.

HBOS, Barclays and Lloyds TSB are all lower as investors worry about the possible contagion on the UK market if Mr Rogoff's comments prove accurate.

Property groups are also under the cosh after a gloomy update from smaller rival Brixton, which saw its NAV tumble after a big asset write-down. British Land and Hammerson have felt the brunt of the selling.

BG is one of the handful of risers, despite its Australian bid target Origin again rebuffing its advances.

FTSE 100 - Risers
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 636.00p +2.83%
Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) 1,470.00p +2.15%
BG Group (BG.) 1,117.00p +1.64%
Xstrata (XTA) 2,867.00p +1.56%
Petrofac Ltd (PFC) 552.50p +1.38%
Drax Group (DRX) 703.00p +0.93%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,724.00p +0.88%
John Wood Group (WG.) 403.75p +0.62%
Cadbury (CBRY) 616.50p +0.49%
National Grid (NG.) 711.50p +0.49%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
HBOS (HBOS) 284.25p -5.09%
Barclays (BARC) 327.25p -4.52%
Hammerson (HMSO) 882.00p -4.44%
Lloyds TSB Group (LLOY) 293.00p -4.25%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 219.25p -4.05%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,358.00p -3.89%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 99.10p -3.88%
British Land Co (BLND) 720.00p -3.87%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 737.00p -3.66%
Prudential (PRU) 530.50p -3.55%

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