The retreat in global markets is accelerating.
Worries about the eurozone, with Spain on strike ahead of an austerity budget on Friday and EU ministers due to meet about the size of the firewall, had already unsettled investors. Then came a negative report from Paris-based think tank the OECD, which among other things said the UK was heading back into recession.
US jobless claims then disappointed the market, and adding to recent signs the world's biggest economy might not be on a smooth track to recovery. The weekly figure came in at 359,000 but this was more than the 350,000 expected by analysts. The previous week was revised upwards from 348,000 to 364,000.
The fact that US GDP figures at 3% matched expectations did little to help sentiment.
So the Dow Jones Industrial Average is currently around 76 points lower while the FTSE 100 has fallen 75.09 points to 5733.90, on course for its lowest close since the end of January.
