The FTSE 100 fell 0.6% yesterday as investors reacted to the lack of stimulus from the European Central Bank.
Commodity stocks were once again out of favour. Tullow Oil led the sector down with a 2.9% fall, while Anglo American, Rio Tinto and BP lost between 2.8% and 2.3%.
In European markets, the Paris CAC 40 fell 68 points to 4,323, and the German Xetra Dax lost 90 points to 9,851.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 each slipped 0.1% to 17,900 and 2,071 respectively. The Nasdaq Composite was also down 0.1% at 4,769.
Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.2% to 17,920, and the broader Topix gained 0.4% to 1,445. And in China, the Shanghai Composite was 1.3% higher at 2,937 and the CSI 300 gained 0.7% to 3,124.
Brent spot was trading at $69.25 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $66.35. Spot gold was trading at $1,205 an ounce, silver was at $16.45 and platinum was at $1,232.
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5648 and against the euro at 1.2647. The dollar was trading at 0.8082 against the euro and 120.22 against the Japanese yen.
And in the UK, construction group Balfour Beatty has rejected an offer of £1bn from John Laing Infrastructure Fund for its portfolio of projects run under the public-private partnership. Balfour Beatty, Britain’s largest construction company, said the offer did not meet its valuation.