Markets: FTSE 100's worst start to the year for 15 years

The FTSE 100 began the new year on a depressing note yesterday, sliding 2.4% to close at 6,093 – the worst start to a new year since 2000, and its second worst ever.

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  • FTSE 100 down 2.4% to 6,093
  • Gold up 1.24% to 1,074.56/oz
  • £/$ - 1.4716

FTSE 100

Commodity stocks were the main drag. Anglo American led the index down with a 6.8% slide, while Glencore lost 5.8% and Antofagasta fell 5%. Precious metals miners bucked the trend however, with Randgold and Fresnillo the day's top climbers, up 2.4% and 0.4% respectively.

In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 fell 2.5% to 4,522, and the German Xetra Dax slid 4.3% to 10,283.

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In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.6% to 17,148, the S&P 500 fell 1.5% to 2,012, and the Nasdaq Composite was 2.1% lower at 4,903.

Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.4% to 18,374, and the broader Topix index was 0.3% lower at 1,504. And in China, the CSI 300 rose 0.3% to 3,478, and the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.3% to 3,287.

Brent spot was trading at $37.10 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $36.74. Spot gold was trading at $1,077 an ounce, silver was at $13.95 and platinum was at $888.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.4695 and against the euro at 1.3596. The dollar was trading at 0.9251 against the euro and 119.19 against the Japanese yen.

And in the UK, clothes retailer Next said it had a "disappointing" Christmas, blaming the warm weather for a fall in takings on the High Street. Sales at its 500 shops fell by 0.5% between 26 October and 24 December. But online sales rose by 2%.

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