It was another unhappy day for London's equity market, with the FTSE 100 index, riding high at a record only a week ago, losing ground for the fourth consecutive session.
Poor sentiment spread right across the board, with the mid and small caps also suffering at the hands of profit-takers who have become increasingly nervous about the market's underlying support.
The day's domestic economic news was, if anything, mildly positive. The minutes of the March meeting of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee showed that members voted eight to one in favour of leaving rates on hold.
Unemployment in Britain in February rose by 4,300, against a neutral forecast, while average earnings came in at plus 4.3 per cent in the year to December, down from a November figure of 4.5 per cent.
The FTSE 100 index finished 61.3 down at 6,140.6, having dropped 92.2 to 6,109.7 at the day's worst level, in mid-morning.
And the FTSE 250 closed 34.4 off at 5,485.3, while the FTSE SmallCap closed a net 0.9 off at 2,379.9.
Turnover in equities reached 1.1 billion shares by the 6 p.m. count. FTSE 100 stocks accounted for just over half the overall total. Around the market sectors there were some strong performers, with the internet joint venture promoting strong support for Daily Mail and General Trust and Dixons. The heavily-weighted oil stocks performed well.
