The FTSE 100 fell 1.28 per cent today – after recent stability was lost as miners lost their value.

Falls were cemented when Wall Street opened with a drop – leaving the FTSE 100 at 5,342.50, down 69.40 points.

At 16:22 the Dow Jones was down 0.59 per cent and the Nasdaq fell 1.12 per cent – falling poor US employment data.

In London the miners, which of late have acted as a backbone for the index, fell with falling commodity values.

Xstrata dropped 7.32 per cent, Rio Tinto fell 7.32 per cent, Vedanta slid 6.39 per cent and Anglo America was down 6.20 per cent.

British Gas owner Centrica fell 6.27 per cent.

However, there were gains to be seen on the markets across the sectors.

Pharma giant Shire rose 4.15 per cent after its results beat forecasts, while Kingfisher was up 3.89 per cent after selling its Italian DIY chain.

Morrison Supermarkets rose 3.76 per cent, while HBOS made up some ground rising 3.70 per cent.

BAE Systems was up 3.67 per cent after good armoured-vehicle sales helped to boost its results.

Ryan Kneale, market analyst at City bookmaker BetsForTraders.com, said: “The major indices are struggling today as oil and base metal prices have softened resulting in declines for energy and mining stocks respectively.

“Banks are on the up again after suffering steep falls midweek but it looks like a relief rally rather than a sustainable recovery.”