Markets: FTSE 100 hits three-year low

• FTSE 100 down 1.3% to 5,874
• Gold down 1.39% to 1,059.85/oz
• £/$ - 1.5142

FTSE 100

Commodity stocks were once again the main drag on the index. Glencore was the day's biggest faller, down 6.1%, while Anglo American lost 4%, and Antofagasta was 3.9% lower.

In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 fell 1.7% to 4,473, and the German Xetra Dax lost 1.9% to 10,139.

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In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% to 17,368, the S&P 500 added 0.5% to 2,021, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.4% higher at 4,952.

Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 slid 1.7% to 18,565, and the broader Topix index lost 1.7% to 1,502. And in China, the CSI 300 fell 0.5% to 3,694, and the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.3% to 3,510.

Brent spot was trading at $37.67 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $36.10. Spot gold was trading at $1,062 an ounce, silver was at $13.67 and platinum was at $846.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5154 and against the euro at 1.3741. The dollar was trading at 0.9067 against the euro and 120.89 against the Japanese yen.

And today, Carpetright announced a healthy rise in profits for the first half of the year. Pre-tax profit in the six months to 31 October rose by 6% to £7.1m, while revenue rose 1.4% to £231.2m.