Picture: Shaun Curry Picture: Shaun Curry
London - A drop in the shares of major mining companies and a gloomy economic outlook from the Bank of Japan (BOJ) pulled Britain's top equity index lower on Tuesday.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was down 0.7 percent at 6,131.19 points in early session trading.
The FTSE is down by around 2 percent since the start of 2016 and 14 percent below its April 2015 record high. World stock markets having fallen in that period due to concerns about a global economic slowdown.
Asian stocks fell as the Bank of Japan offered a bleaker view on the economy as it kept its monetary policy steady.
The BOJ also dropped references to taking rates further into negative territory, six weeks after taking an initial, radical shift into negative rates territory.
“Fears still linger over central banks running out of ammunition to jump start global growth while China's woes periodically sour risk appetite,” said FXTM research analyst Lukman Otunuga.
Concerns about a slowdown in China, the world's second-biggest economy and a major commodities consumer, have hit metals and oil prices.
Miners such as Anglo American and BHP Billiton slumped on Tuesday as copper prices weakened, while shares in Antofagasta were also hit by the cancellation of Antofagasta's final dividend.
However, Royal Bank of Scotland managed to outperform, advancing 1.3 percent after Goldman Sachs upgraded RBS to “buy” from “neutral”.
REUTERS