Shareholders were anxiously hoping for better news on the London stock market today after it hit a fresh five-year low yesterday.

More than £45bn was wiped from the value of blue-chip shares yesterday, with the FTSE 100 Index of leading shares slumping more than 4 per cent, down 190.1 points at 4230 as traders reacted to yet more bad news from corporate America.

Stocks were hit again after it was revealed the US Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating drug giant Bristol-Myers Squibb to see whether the firm had inflated its revenues last year.

The slide also means billions have been wiped from pension funds.