After three days of successive falls there was no sign at the outset of the Footsie pulling out of its tail-spin.
The FTSE 100 was down 30 points, or 0.5%, after around half an hour of trading, with miners responsible for much of the fall.
Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL), down 2.2% at 621.2p, was the top faller in the wake of a broker report yesterday from JP Morgan Cazenove, which recommended an “underweight” position.
Just 14 stocks were on the up, with tool hire group Ashtead Group PLC (LON:AHT) the pick of the bunch, up 2.2%, after full-year results revealed a healthy 48% bump in the full-year pay-out and the commencement of a £200mln share repurchase programme.
Preview
London’s FTSE 100 is expected to start lower again on Tuesday as sentiment remains heavy on global equities, amid concerns for global growth and outside pressures.
Weakening sterling, downward pressure on bond yields and uncertainty over the upcoming European Union referendum continue to be factors.
Global equities continue to play pass the parcel with negative sentiment.
Last night, Wall Street’s Dow Jones shed 132 points, 0.74%, to close at 17,732 while the S&P 500 ended 0.81% lower. The Nasdaq meanwhile dropped 0.94% to 4,848.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.43% to 15,790.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was slightly lower, and the Shanghai Composite was basically flat.
Australia’s ASX 200 lost 1.87% to 5,213.
In the commodities market crude oil’s rally has stalled, with both Brent and WTI futures dropping back below US$50 per barrel. Gold, meanwhile, was priced at around US$1,280 per ounce.
London’s equities are expected to be lower. IG Markets this morning is calling the FTSE 100 around 20 points lower, with the blue-chip benchmark priced by the CFD and spread betting firm at 6,033 to 6,039 about an hour before the stock market opens.