Weak oil and mining shares hit FTSE

Continued weakness in gold and silver also hit sentiment pushing the benchmark FTSE 100 index down 40.79 points or 0.6 per cent to 6,343.6.

The materials and energy sectors combined to take 30 points off the blue-chip index after data showed China’s economic recovery unexpectedly slowed in the first quarter. The news caught some investors by surprise after a surge in banking liquidity and a rise in export growth fuelled hopes of stronger numbers.

Michael Hewson, senior market analyst at CMC Markets, said: “Mining stocks and commodity prices have got absolutely battered with gold prices falling though a key technical support level and silver prices also doing the same thing.”

Russian gold and silver producer Polymetal International shed 13 per cent or 113p to 746p, also hit by a downgrade from Citi. The brokerage said: “Unfortunately, we believe that the bull market has peaked.”

Plunging oil prices – falling to near $89 a barrel for US crude, their lowest level since mid-December – also hit oil services stocks.

Petrofac was down 52p to 1,348p, a 3.7 per cent fall, while John Wood Group was 36.5p lower at 817p, a 4.3 per cent fall.

Cairn Energy said it had hired a drilling rig from  Transocean for its exploration programme off the coasts of Senegal and Morocco.  Edinburgh-based Cairn’s shares dipped 3.7p to 289.9p as oil prices eased.

NEW YORK: The S&P 500 posted its worst day in more than four months last night, as big drops in the price of gold and other commodities triggered a broad sell-off in equities, Wall Street indices extending declines in late afternoon trading after reports of the explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 265.86 points or 1.79 per cent, to end at 14,599.20 while the broader S&P 500 lost 36.48 points or 2.30 percent, to finish at 1,552.37. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 78.46 points or 2.38 per cent, to close at 3,216.49.