Strong US inflation numbers have knocked back hopes of more US rate cuts and today the UK stock markets are taking their turn to tumble.
Catching up from sharp falls in the US and Asia, the FTSE 100 is down 95 points, or 1.5%, at around 6,301.
Retailers feature strongly among the top fallers as fears about a high street spending slump continue. Christmas jitters have put Home Retail Group down 20.75p at 309.25p, Next down 74p at £16.03 and DSG down 3.8p at 100.1p. Among the midcaps, struggling Debenhams has slumped 6.75p, or 8.3%, at 74.5p.
Miners are also dragging on the market and the afternoon doesn't look much brighter, with US futures currently indicating more falls on Wall Street. The Federal Reserve intervenes later today with an additional $20bn of term funding - 28 days of funds available to banks on a collateralised basis - to ease the credit crunch.
