Global markets fall as FTSE 100 suffers worst day of the year
Stock markets in the UK and US have plummeted amid growing fears of an economic slowdown.
The FSTE 100 suffered its worst day of 2019 as it ended Friday 2 per cent lower, falling 148 points and wiping off around £37bn in the companies combined value.
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In the US all three main indexes were between 1.9 per cent and 2.5 per cent down, while markets in Germany and France also fell.
It comes after figures revealed manufacturing in Germany had declined for a third successive month and was growing at its slowest pace since 2014.
That combined with the US central bank warning that it did not expect to raise interest rates for the rest of the year due to slower economic growth left investors fearing the worst.
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The Dow Jones and S&P 500 both fell by about 1.9 per cent while the Nasdaq plunged 2.5 per cent in the worst combined performance from the three indexes since December.
Meanwhile, an increase in the Sterling on the back of a small Brexit delay also negatively affected the FTSE with multinational companies having weaker overseas earnings.