FTSE ends down as miners lead world sell-off

By Rebekah Curtis

LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - Britain's leading share index shed 1.2 percent on Monday, as miners and banks tumbled on investors' fears that an intensifying credit crisis would unleash more losses at banks and threaten world growth.

The FTSE 100 .FTSE ended down 70.8 points at 5,629.1, its lowest close since the end of January, as shares slid across Europe and on Wall Street.

The UK benchmark index has fallen nearly 13 percent so far this year as fears of an increasingly likely U.S. recession have rattled investors globally.

U.S. stocks dropped as traders cited talk that a Wall Street firm faced liquidity concerns, dragging down financial stocks and adding to anxiety about the credit crisis and recession fears.

"Given the continuing tough conditions in the credit markets, I don't think anybody can say we're out of the woods," said Jeremy Batstone-Carr, head of private client research at Charles Stanley.

"We're still in the eye of the storm ... Sentiment remains very fragile," he added.

Miners were the worst hit, knocking about 38 points off the index, on concerns of slowing global demand and worries that recent merger and acquisition activity may come to nothing, traders said.

All stocks in the sector ended in the red, with Antofagasta (ANTO.L: Quote, Profile, Research) losing 7.4 percent, while Rio Tinto (RIO.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and Vedanta Resources (VED.L: Quote, Profile, Research) both dropped 6 percent.