- FTSE 100 down 1.1% to 6,579
- Gold up 0.77% to $1,099.05
- £/$ – 1.5508
The FTSE 100 continued its slide on Friday, falling a further 1.1% to close at 6,579.
Miners were the main drag on the index. Antofagasta was the day’s biggest faller, with a 6.3% drop, while Glencore lost 4.5% and BHP Billiton was 3.8% lower.
In Europe’s markets, the Paris CAC 40 fell 0.6% to 5,057, and the German Xetra Dax was 1.4% lower at 11,347.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.9% to 17,568, the S&P 500 lost 1.1% to 2,079, and the Nasdaq Composite was 1.1% lower at 5,088.
Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 lost 1% to 20,350, and the broader Topix index fell 1.1% to 1,637. And in China, the CSI 300 lost 8.6% to 3,819, and the Shanghai Composite fell 8.5% to 3,725.
Brent spot was trading at $54.58 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $48.04. Spot gold was trading at $1,105 an ounce, silver was at $14.74 and platinum was at $981.
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5506 and against the euro at 1.3997. The dollar was trading at 0.9021 against the euro and 123.28 against the Japanese yen.
And in the UK, theme park operator Merlin has issued a profit warning, after earnings were hit by a rollercoaster crash at its Alton Towers park. Profits would be down by £47m compared to last year, it said, at between £40m and £50m.