Updates from Barclays and Dixons Retail

The FTSE 100 took a 53.4 point drop on Wednesday, slipping to 6,733.6, not helped by grim economic sentiment from the US and more Iraq worry. Meggitt and Tullow Oil took the biggest falls, down 3.24% and 2.81% respectively. However Shire lifted 2.57% to 4517p.

The US news - its economy shrank at a rate of 2.9% in the first quarter - still saw the Dow lift almost 50 points to 16,867.5. The pound slipped against the dollar and euro. %VIRTUAL-SkimlinksPromo%