- FTSE 100 down 0.7% to 6,889
- Gold down 0.51% to $1,206.83/oz
- £/$ - 1.5366
Medical equipment maker Smith & Nephew was the day's biggest faller, down 5.7%. Building supplies firm Travis Perkins lost 4%, and RSA Insurance was 3.3% lower.
In European markets, the Paris CAC 40 fell 1% to 4,869, and the German Xetra Dax lost 1.1% to 11,280.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 each fell 0.5% to 18,203 and 2,107 respectively, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.6% lower at 4,979.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.6% to 18,703, and the broader Topix index lost 0.6% to 1,517. And in China, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.5% to 3,279, and the CSI 300 added 0.7% to 3,530.
Brent spot was trading at $60.60 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $50.51. Spot gold was trading at $1,204 an ounce, silver was at $16.23 and platinum was at $1,181.
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5354 and against the euro at 1.3788. The dollar was trading at 0.8980 against the euro and 119.68 against the Japanese yen.
And today, the UK government has sold its 40% stake in Eurostar for £757.1m. The buyer is a partnership between Canada's Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, a public body which manages pension plans for the province of Quebec, and private equity firm Hermes Infrastructure.
David Stevenson, former MoneyWeek writer and director of The Fleet Street Letter, believessilver could be about to start a record climb. Click here(capital at risk)to read about the three irresistible forces David believes could push the price of silver through the roof.
