The FTSE 100 closed at 5,534.50, down 7.3 points from yesterday as fresh economic data cast more gloom on the financial markets.

Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed shoppers were still shying away from the high street in July and sales slumped a further 0.9 per cent over the month.

Meanwhile, inflation rose higher than expectations to hit 4.4 per cent, reinforcing views that the Bank of England will not be cutting interest rates for some time, as demanded by the beleaguered property industry.

The London Stock Exchange itself was one of the biggest fallers of the day, with shares in the bourse slipping 7.02 per cent.

The fall in shares was triggered by the launch today of rival Turquoise, which was set up by banks including Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse to force stock exchanges to cut their fees.

Shares in miners also continued to fall on weaker metals prices, with Eurasian Natural Resources down 6.75 per cent and Kazakhmys down 5.51 per cent.

ITV was one of the stars today on more takeover talk, rising 6.3 per cent by the end of the day.

Ryan Kneale, market analyst at City bookmaker www.BetsForTraders.com, said: “Another mixed bag of macroeconomic data has done little to assure us the UK is not heading for recession.

“CPI inflation came in at 4.4 per cent today, 0.3 per cent more than expected and more poor housing and retail sales data shows that consumer spending is almost nonexistent.

“Today’s data leaves the Bank of England stuck between a rock and a hard place with regards to future interest rate decisions as a cut or a rise look a long way off yet.”