Markets: financial stocks drag FTSE 100 down

• FTSE 100 down 0.9% to 6,994
• Gold up 0.48% to $1,204.27/oz
• £/$ - 1.4962

Financial stocks were the worst performers. St James's Place was the day' sbiggest faller with a 3.2% loss, while Schroders fell 2.5% and Hargreaves Lansdown lost 2.3%.

In European markets, the Paris CAC 40 fell 1.6% to 5,143, and the German Xetra Dax slid 2.6% to 11,688.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.5% to 17,826, the S&P 500 lost 1.1% to 2,081, and the Nasdaq Composite was 1.5% lower at 4,931.

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Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.1% to 19,634, and the broader Topix index fell 0.4% to 1,582. And in China, the Shanghai Composite fell 2% to 4,217, and the CSI 300 slid 1.6% to 4,521.

Brent spot was trading at $63.84 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $56.28. Spot gold was trading at $1,206 an ounce, silver was at $16.29 and platinum was at $1,168.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.4959 and against the euro at 1.3876. The dollar was trading at 0.9275 against the euro and 118.70 against the Japanese yen.

And in the UK, property asking prices have hit an all-time high according to the latest figures from Rightmove. Asking prices for homes in England and Wales rose by 1.6% in April, taking the average to £286,133 £4,351 more than the previous record et in June 2014.