Markets: another torrid day for the FTSE 100

published 8 January 2016

FTSE 100 down 2% to 5,954
Gold up 1.4% to 1,109.00/oz
£/$ - 1.4618

FTSE 100

Anglo American and Glencore led the index down, tumbling 11% and 8.3% respectively as miners once again bore the brunt of the losses. Antofagasta lost 5.3% and BHP Billiton was 5% lower.

In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 fell 1.7% to 4,403, and the German Xetra Dax lost 2.3% to 9,979.

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In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.3% to 16,514, the S&P 500 lost 2.4% to 1,943, and the Nasdaq Composite was 3% lower at 4,689.

Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.4% to 17,697, and the broader Topix index was 0.7% lower at 1,447. And in China, the CSI 300 rose 2% to 3,361, and the Shanghai Composite added 2% to 3,186.

Brent spot was trading at $34.24 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $33.67. Spot gold was trading at $1,101 an ounce, silver was at $14.06 and platinum was at $877.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.4606 and against the euro at 1.3434. The dollar was trading at 0.9197 against the euro and 118.39 against the Japanese yen.

And in the UK, Nichols plc, maker of Vimto and Sunkist, said UK sales fell by 0.3% to £84.9m last year, as the "war on sugar" bites. Overseas sales rose by 1.5%, however, to £24.4m. Profits are expected to be in line with expectations.