London shares tumbled on Wednesday as investor sentiment was hit by weak eurozone data and fears the US Federal Reserve will begin cutting its monetary stimulus scheme.
Official data showed the 17-nation eurozone stuck in recession for a sixth consecutive quarter in the first three months of 2013.
The benchmark FTSE 100 index ended the day 2.12% lower at 6,419.31 points.
Investors were eagerly awaiting Friday’s vital US non-farm payrolls data, which could provide clues on whether the Federal Reserve will maintain its quantitative easing (QE) economic stimulus measures.
“The FTSE 100 has lost ground throughout today’s session despite better than expected service sector growth, as traders take their lead from disappointing EU data and ongoing fears of Federal Reserve QE tapering,” said Matt Basi at CMC Markets UK.
In company news, only three blue-chips managed to say in positive territory, with Sage Group the star performer with the Newcastle-based software firm up 0.56% to close at 356.10 pence.
Wolseley was also in demand with the plumbing giant up 0.48% to close at 3,160 pence.
National Grid was the biggest faller as the energy supplier nose-dived 6.39% to close at 740 pence.
Aberdeen Asset Management was also under heavy selling pressure and the investment group saw its shares retreat by 5.69% to close at 437.50 pence.
Lloyds Banking Group remained the most traded blue-chip with 111.46 million shares switching owners, followed by Vodafone with 85.36 million shares changing hands.
On the currency markets, sterling rose to to $1.5393 at 5:40pm, up from $1.5312 at the same time on Tuesday. The pound was trading at 1.1758 euros from 1.1706 euros over the same period.
London shares tumble
