Markets: Financial and commodity stocks drag FTSE 100 down

published 6 April 2016

FTSE 100 down 1.2% to 6,091
Gold up 1.31% to $1,231.56/oz
£/$ 1.4161

FTSE 100

Glencore was the day's biggest faller, down 5.3%. BHP Billiton lost 4.4%, Anglo American fell 4%. Among financials, Standard Chartered slid 4%, while Standard Life, HSBC and RBS lost between 3.9% and 2.6%.

In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 fell 2.2% to 4,250, and the German Xetra Dax slid 2.6% to 9,563.

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In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8% to 17,603, the S&P 500 lost 1% to 2,045, and the Nasdaq Composite was 1% lower at 4,843.

Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.1% to 15,715, and the broader Topix index fell one point to 1,267. And in China, the CSI 300 lost 0.2% to 3,257, and the Shanghai Composite was 0.1% lower at 3,050.

Brent spot was trading at $38.59 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $36.83. Spot gold was trading at $1,227 an ounce, silver was at $15.10 and platinum was at $951.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.4140 and against the euro at 1.2454. The dollar was trading at 0.8807 against the euro and 110.45 against the Japanese yen.

And today, commodities giant Glencore says it is to sell part of its agricultural business to a Canadian pension fund in a bid to cut its $25.9bn debt mountain. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board will pay $2.5bn for a 40% stake.