Markets: FTSE 100 claws back some of its early losses

• FTSE 100 down 3.1% to 6,138
• Gold up 4.66% to $1,315.45/oz
• £/$ 1.3667

Housebuilders ended up the day's biggest losers. Taylor Wimpey slid 29.3%, while Persimmon, Barratt and Berkeley Group lost between 27.6% and 21%. Banks were also out of favour, with Lloyds down 21% and RBS and Barclays each losing 18%.

At the other end of the table, however, precious metals miners Randgold Resources and Fresnillo were both in demand, adding 14.2% and 11.9% respectively.

In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 fell 8% to 4,106 and the German Xetra Dax slid 7% to 9,557.

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In the US yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3.4% to 17,400, the S&P 500 lost 3.6% to 2,037, and the Nasdaq Composite was 4.1% lower at 4,707.

Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 2.4% to 15,309 and the broader Topix index added 1.8% to 1,225. And in China, the CSI 300 gained 1.4% to 3,120 and the Shanghai Composite added 1.5% to 2,895.

Brent spot was trading at $48.81 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $48.85. Spot gold was trading at $1,325 an ounce, silver was at $17.73 and platinum was at $991.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.3747 and against the euro at 1.2371. The dollar was trading at 0.8985 against the euro and 102.94 against the Japanese yen.

And in the UK today, easyJet has issued a profits warning. Pre-tax profit for the three months to the end of June will be £28m lower than expected, after strikes by air traffic controllers in France, cancellations due to bad weather, and congestion at Gatwick.