Fears over the US economic recovery and ongoing worries about Europe’s debt crisis put world markets on the back foot today.
The FTSE 100 Index slid more than 1.5% or 95.7 points to 5852.4, while Asian markets slumped by a similar level earlier in the day.
Credit rating downgrades for Italy and Greece and further signs that US consumer demand may be weakening were blamed for the sell-off.
Oil prices were also below 99 US dollars a barrel as a stronger greenback made commodities more expensive for investors with other currencies.
One of the biggest fallers in London’s top flight was plumbing and building supplies firm Wolseley after Deutsche Bank cut the stock to hold and said it was pessimistic about prospects in the new build market. Shares were 84p lower at 1947p, a drop of 4%.
In corporate results, shares in building services firm MITIE jumped 4% or 7.85p to 217.85p after it posted a 9% rise in annual pre-tax profits to £86.8 million and said it was well placed for sustainable growth.
Meanwhile, shares in low-cost airline Ryanair were down 5% to 3.3 euros after it said it expected flat profits this year due to the impact of high fuel costs. Rival easyJet also dropped 18.65p to 344.05p.
