Markets: FTSE 100 dragged down by commodity stocks

• FTSE 100 down 2.4% to 6,194
• Gold down 0.18% to $1,123.45
• £/$ - 1.5170

FTSE 100

Commodity stocks were the main drag on the index. Anglo American lost 7.8%, while Glencore slid 6%, Antofagasta fell 5.4%, and BHP Billiton was 5.2% lower. Hikma Pharmaceuticals, which rose 0.3%, and international Consolidated Airlines, which added 0.1%, were the only two stocks to register gains.

In Europe's markets yesterday, the Paris CAC 40 fell 2.8% to 4,523, and the German Xetra Dax was 2.7% lower at 10,038.

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In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.7% to 16,102, the S&P 500 lost 1.5% to 1,921, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 1% to 4,683.

Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.4% to 17,860, and the broader Topix index added 0.1% to 1,445. And in China, the CSI 300 fell 3.4% to 3,250, and the Shanghai Composite lost 2.5% to 3,080.

Brent spot was trading at $49.01 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $46.65. Spot gold was trading at $1,123 an ounce, silver was at $14.59 and platinum was at $993.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5211 and against the euro at 1.3632. The dollar was trading at 0.8962 against the euro and 119.29 against the Japanese yen.

And in the UK, Tesco has confirmed that it has sold its South Korean business, Homeplus, for £4bn. The proceeds will be used to pay off some of the firm's £20bn debt.