Around £60bn was wiped off the value of leading firms as the FTSE 100 Index fell around 5% yesterday amid fears of a US recession.

At one point the index was down 329 points, or nearly 6%, more than the drop triggered by the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.

Among the recruiters hit were: OPD Group - down 12.5p, Michael Page - down 8.25p, Empresaria - down 8p, Morson - down 7p, Imprint - down 7p, Robert Walters - down 5.75p and Hays - down 5.75p.

Hat Pin shares fell 30.5p after it released a trading update which said its overall profitability will be impacted by the poor second-half performance of The Talent Business, resulting in profits for the year falling below market expectations.

The FTSE is down nearly 12% on the opening mark of 6456.9 this year - the worst start to a year since records began in 1936.