It's been another day of sharp losses for the FTSE 100, which has just closed down almost 120 points in the wake of US inflation worries, high street spending jitters and general unease about the global economic outlook.
Fears about growth tailing off kept metals prices under pressure and miners were some of the hardest hit stocks of the day. Rio Tinto is 164p lower at £50.12, Xstrata has lost 140p to £34.57 and Vedanta is down 110p to £19.99.
Heavy losses for miners, retailers and banks have left the FTSE 100 down 119.2 points, or 1.9%, at 6,277.8. The Dow is currently a much milder 0.7% down, or 86 points lower at around 13,245.
A bright spot amid the UK gloom is publishing group Reed Elsevier after analysts at Credit Suisse recommended switching to the shares out of rival Pearson. They have an "outperform" rating and a target price of 710p for Reed but "underperform" on Financial Times and school books publisher Pearson.
The investment bank points out that Reed has lower cyclical exposure than Pearson and adds that Reed has been a net seller of assets at "what would appear to be the top of the cycle" whereas Pearson has been a net buyer.
Pearson has closed down 8p at 700.5p while Reed is up 7.5p at 648p.
