Thursday 03 October 2019 9:03 am | Updated: Thursday 03 October 2019 9:04 am

FTSE 100 losses deepen as investor jitters over world economy linger

Stock market losses deepened this morning, as investor fears of a global slowdown lingered following a major sell-off yesterday.

Concerns over the state of the world economy have driven trading jitters this week, with the FTSE 100 the worst-hit index amid mounting Brexit uncertainty.

The blue chip index fell 0.3 per cent per cent to 7,096 points after the bell opened today, adding to three per cent losses it suffered yesterday during its worst day of trading in more than three years.

Ted Baker was among the firms to drag down London markets after the fashion retailer slumped to a half-year loss.

A new trade war front between the US and the EU also riled Asian markets, with Japan’s Nikkei dropping two per cent today at 21,341 today.

All of Tokyo’s 33 sub-sector indexes also ended in negative territory, dragged down by carmakers and miners.

Washington has vowed to impose new tariffs on a range of European goods, from French wine to Italian cheese.

“Ugly is the only way to describe it. Not quite free-fall or panic, but very ugly,” said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst for Markets.com.

He added: “Investor confidence has crumbled off the back off a couple of weak US data prints, whilst impeachment talk and geopolitical troubles from Hong Kong to North Korea are not helping. European investors also battling the real prospect of a no-deal Brexit and worries about a new tariff war with the US after the WTO back Washington over the Airbus case.”

In Europe, Germany’s main index, the Dax, closed 2.8 per cent lower last night, while France’s Cac 40 lost more than three per cent.

Last night US stock markets also closed lower, as weak manufacturing data pushed down the Dow Jones Industrial Average 1.9 per cent, marking the second day in a row it has lost more than one per cent.

The S&P 500 tumbled 1.8 per cent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq shed 1.6 per cent.