FTSE takes £242bn hit

Brexit causes biggest slump since 2008

SHARES have suffered their biggest one-year fall since the financial crisis of 2008.

The FTSE 100 slumped 959 points – more than 12% – in 2018.

The drop, the sharpest since 2008, wiped £242billion off the value of the 100 listed companies on the index.

The FTSE ended yesterday down slightly at 6728.1 – nearly 1,200 points below the 2018 high of 7877 in May.

Shares have been hit since by investor jitters about a trade war between the US and China, a global economic slowdown and Brexit.

The drop has hit those who invest in the stock market, including pension funds on which millions of ordinary workers rely.

The more UK-focused FTSE 250 lost more than 15% of its value last year, which equates to £59bn. The falls here were matched by other stock markets around the world.

Oil prices saw the first annual fall in three years. After peaking at $84 a barrel in October, oil has since tumbled by more than a third.

The drop should mean lower pump prices for drivers and ease pressure on living costs, if the savings are passed on.

Think tank the Centre for Economics and Business Research predicts stock markets will remain “volatile” in 2019.

It added: “UK economic growth should be sluggish at best for the first part of the year, though if the Brexit indecision ends, there will probably be a boost to the investment that has hitherto been blocked as a result of Brexit uncertainty.”