London shares stayed firmly in the red on Tuesday after more downbeat Chinese economic data.
The FTSE 100 Index fell 141.61 points to 6106 following another contraction in manufacturing figures overnight.
Markets were expecting a fall, but analysts said the data simply confirmed that Chinese economic momentum was slowing down and that Beijing might miss its GDP targets.
Connor Campbell at spread-betting firm Spreadex said the US open was not looking positive, with futures pointing to the Dow starting around 300 points lower.
He said: "The US will then have to endure its own manufacturing data, with analysts forecasting a slight fall in the ISM figure."
There was mixed economic news in Europe, where stronger Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) numbers from Germany and Spain contrasted with weaker figures in the UK, France and Italy.
In Germany, manufacturing PMI figures hit a 16-month high in August and Spanish output growth picked up to a three-month high.
But in the UK, the headline seasonally adjusted Markit/CIPS PMI dipped slightly to 51.5 in August, from 51.9 in July and well below the average of about 54 since the start of 2013.
Senior UK economist Samuel Tombs said: "August’s UK CIPS report on manufacturing shows that the strong pound is crimping exporters and so suggests that the major support net trade provided to GDP growth in the second quarter will be a blip."
The Bank of England reported another increase in unsecured consumer lending in July, which some said indicated that people were becoming more confident.
But Howard Archer at IHS Global Insight said: "There is the concern that consumers are becoming increasingly tempted to take on debt again to fund spending. Consumers need to allow for the fact that interest rates are set to start rising before long."
In thin corporate news, RSA Insurance (LON:RSA) was outperforming the market after talk that the UK firm, which has received a takeover approach from Swiss rival Zurich Insurance, could face a rival bid from Allianz of Germany or Generali of Italy.
RSA shares fell 1.5p to 512.5p but Aviva (LON:AV.) was off 12p at 471.8p, Prudential (LON:PRU) reversed 35.5p to 1382.5p and Admiral (LON:ADM) retreated 24p to 1526p.
Shares in Northcote Energy (LON:NCT) rose by 0.01p to 0.16p after the US oil explorer reported better-than-expected drilling results at a well in Louisiana.
Satellite operator Inmarsat (LON:ISAT) lost hold of early gains to fall 9.5p to 971.5p as it confirmed the successful launch into orbit of its third Global Xpress satellite.
Petroceltic International (LON:PCI) surged 7.75p to 61.25p on news that Italian super-major ENI had made the largest ever gas find in the Mediterranean in a block near to where the Ireland and UK-listed small-cap has licences.
Energy group Entu (LON:ENTU) dropped 27p to 65.5p as it ditched its loss-making solar business and issued a profit warning for 2015.