Markets: FTSE 100 falls back from highs

• FTSE 100 down 0.7% to 6,911
• Gold down 2.6% to $1,167.19/oz
• £/$ - 1.5037

Mining stocks were among the worst performers. Randgold lost 5.3% as the price of gold took a fall, and Fresnillo slid 5.2%. Property companies were also out of favour. Intu Properties formerly Capital Shopping Centres fell 3.9%, while Hammerson lost 3% and British Land was 2.7% lower.

In European markets, the Paris CAC 40 rose one point to 4,694, and the German Xetra Dax added 0.4% to 11,550.

n the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1.5% to 17,856, the S&P 500 fell 1.4% to 2,071, and the Nasdaq Composite was 1.1% lower at 4,927.

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Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 lost 1% to 18,790, and the broader Topix index fell 0.6% to 1,531. And in China, the Shanghai Composite rose 1.9% to 3,302, and the CSI 300 added 1.7% to 3,537.

Brent spot was trading at $59.52 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $49.69. Spot gold was trading at $1,174 an ounce, silver was at $15.92 and platinum was at $1,153.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5099 and against the euro at 1.3876. The dollar was trading at 0.9190 against the euro and 120.80 against the Japanese yen.

And in the UK, the government announced it had sold another 1% stake in Lloyds Banking Group, netting £500m. The sale means the taxpayer now owns just 22.9% of the bank, compared with 40% in 2009.