Markets: FTSE 100 sees heavy falls

• FTSE 100 down 1.3% to 6,859
• Gold down 0.7% to $1,176.79
• £/$ - 1.5364

Commodity stocks were among the worst performers. Anglo American led the sector down with a 4.1% fall, while Randgold lost 3.4%, BHP Billiton fell 3.2% and Fresnillo was 3% lower. The day's biggest faller was precious metals refiner Johnson Matthey, which lost 5.3%.

In Europe's markets yesterday, the Paris CAC 40 fell 0.9% to 4,987, and the German Xetra Dax fell 0.7% to 11,340.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 each lost 0.9% to 17,905 and 2,095 respectively, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.8% lower at 5,059.

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Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.1% to 20,460, and the broader Topix index lost 0.4% to 1,667. And in China, the Shanghai Composite rose 1.5% to 5,023 and the CSI 300 gained 1% to 5,231.

Brent spot was trading at $61.68 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $57.58. Spot gold was trading at $1,176 an ounce, silver was at $16.10, and platinum was at $1,098.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5320 and against the euro at 1.3595. The dollar was trading at 0.8873 against the euro and 124.73 against the Japanese yen.

And in the UK, Lloyds Banking Group has been hit with a record fine for failings in the way it handled complaints about mis-sold payment protection insurance. The bank, which is still 19% owned by the state, was fined £117m. CEO Antnio Horta-Osrio has had £350,000 docked from his bonus.