As doubts grow about the last ditch European rescue package, European markets are on the slide, with mining shares among the leading fallers.
So on the last trading day of what has been a volatile month - with the FTSE 100 up around 500 points so far in October - investors have decided to book some profits. The leading index is currently 68.73 points lower at 5633.51, with Vedanta Resources leading the way down, off 62p at £13.42. As copper fell back on renewed worries about demand, Xstrata has lost 45p to 1087.5p and BHP Billiton is down 77.5p at 2024.5p.
Ahead of a US Federal Reserve meeting starting on Tuesday, and the G20 meeting later this week, the hope that China will come and bail out the Eurozone seems to have dimmed, while the currency market is taking on board intervention by the Japanese to curb the strength of the yen. Simon Denham at Capital Spreads said:
The FTSE seems to have given up the ghost on trying to record its second best monthly gain on record as the euphoria from last week's EU summit rubs off. European leaders and officials have been going cap in hand to Asia hoping that they will write us a blank cheque and we'll give them a big IOU in return, however for some reason the likes of China and Japan seem reluctant to show their support.
Hedge fund group Man has lost 5p to 148.4p following news that MF Global - spun off from Man in 2007 - was edging close to bankruptcy , partly due to the Eurozone debt crisis. Man however has no retained shareholding in MF Global.
Defensive stocks were spared the sell-off, with Vodafone up 2.25p at 176.55p, Scottish and Southern Energy up 15p at £13.60 and National Grid 7p better at 629.5p. GlaxoSmithkline is also higher, up 11p at £13.95.
