Markets: commodity stocks drag FTSE 100 down

published 2 September 2015

FTSE 100 down 3% to 6,058.54
Gold up 0.48% to $1,140.20
£/$ - 1.5304

Commodities were the main drag. Glencore shed 10%, while Anglo American lost 7.6%, BHP Billiton fell 6.7%, and Antofagasta was 5.7% lower. Just one stock was in positive territory Meggitt added 2.4%.

In Europe's markets yesterday, the Paris CAC 40 fell 2.4% to 4,541, and the German Xetra Dax was 2.4% lower at 10,015.

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In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 2.8% to 16,058, the S&P 500 lost 3% to 1,913, and the Nasdaq Composite was 2.9% lower at 4,636.

Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.4% to 10,095, and the broader Topix index each lost 0.8% to 11,465. And in China, the CSI 300 rose 0.1% to 3,365, and the Shanghai Composite fell 0.2% to 3,160.

Brent spot was trading at $48.85 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $44.50. Spot gold was trading at $1,142 an ounce, silver was at $14.61 and platinum was at $1,009.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5310 and against the euro at 1.3613. The dollar was trading at 0.8891 against the euro and 120.12 against the Japanese yen.

And in the UK, car parts and cycle retailer Halfords said it has seen its first fall in cycle sales for two years. Sales in the eight weeks to 28 August fell by 11%. However, it was still on course to increase full-year profits to £86.2m, up from £84.1m the previous year.