FTSE sinks 2% on Europe and China fears

The FTSE 100 was down almost 2% this afternoon as fears over Europe's sovereign debt woes and tighter monetary policy in China continued to weigh on investors.

At 3.24pm, the UK's leading index was down 1.99% or 115.69 points 5,704.72. Miners led fallers as metal prices pull back on concerns fears China will act to cool down its economy to rein in inflation. Kazakhmys was down 5.28% to £14.34, while Antofagasta shed 4.8% to £13.69 and Fresnillo dropped 4.61% to £13.86. Banks were also under pressure as the eurozone's finance ministers try to find a way out of Ireland's debt crisis. Lloyds fell 3.79% to 67.22p, followed by Standard Chartered which slipped 3.47% to £18.35. Rexam is bucking the downward trend today after the can maker...