Markets: FTSE 100 continues its fall

FTSE 100 down 0.4% to 6,953
Gold down 0.12% to $1,189.10
£/$ - 1.5201

Energy and commodity stocks were the main drag on the market. Engineering firm Weir Group was the day's biggest faller, down 3.4%, while Royal Dutch Shell lost 1.6%. Among miners, Anglo American fell 2.2%, Glencore lost 2.2% and BHP Billiton was 1.5% lower.

In Europe's markets yesterday, the Paris CAC 40 rose 0.4% to 5,025, and the German Xetra Dax added 0.2% to 11,436.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 each rose 0.2% to 18,040 and 2,111 respectively, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.3% higher at 5,082.

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Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.1% to 20,543, and the broader Topix index fell 0.3% to 1,674. And in China, the Shanghai Composite and the CSI 300 each added 1.7% to 4,910 and 5,162 respectively.

Brent spot was trading at $65.42 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $60.70. Spot gold was trading at $1,188 an ounce, silver was at $16.66, and platinum was at $1,104.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5211 and against the euro at 1.3862. The dollar was trading at 0.9112 against the euro and 124.56 against the Japanese yen.

And in a bid to reduce costs, HSBC is to cut 20,000 jobs globally, according to a report by Sky News. The bank currently employs some 258,000 people.

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