China's growth rate slowed to its lowest level in 18 months in the first quarter of 2014 amid fears the economy is experiencing a slowdown in momentum.
Another day of losses yesterday has left the UK's main mid-cap index down almost 7% since the start of March - underperforming both large and small caps as warnings on valuations made at the start of the year ring true.
Standard Life Investments' small cap manager Ken Nicholson has left the firm after fifteen years.
The FTSE 100 was down nearly 1% this morning, while gold was in the ascendency, as investors sold down BP amid the latest developments in Ukraine.
US equity fund managers have begun cutting their exposure to technology stocks as the highly-rated sector falls out of favour with some investors following a long winning streak.