In the end, leading shares suffered their fourth consecutive day of decline, with the FTSE 100 closing down 69.6 points at 5895.5.
It had looked so much brighter this morning, with the FTSE 100 breaking the 6000 barrier once more. But poor figures from US industrial giant GE did the damage, hitting Wall Street sentiment and sending London shares into reverse. If GE is struggling, the rest of the US economy will certainly follow suit, as commentators were quick to indicate.
UK industrial groups were weaker after the GE news, with Rolls-Royce 14p lower at 418.25p and Smiths Group down 26.5p at 914.5p.
BAE Systems also fell sharply, down 24.25p to 475p as the high court said the SFO investigation into the company should not have been halted. Rolls and BAE, of course, could be hit by any problems with the Eurofighter contract if the SFO probe is reopened.
