FTSE extends losses as gold price slips again

The FTSE 100 was trading 1.8% lower at 3pm as US markets slipped at the open following a poor Italian debt auction and signs of division re-emerging among eurozone leaders.

The FTSE lost 100 points to touch 5,391 after the start of trading in the US, where the S&P 500 fell 1% to 1,214, as eurozone politicians warned on the logistics of further fiscal integration. In Germany, the Dax was down 1.4% at 5,694 while the French Cac 40 fell 2.1% to 3,014. An earlier 5-year Italian debt auction yield of 6.47% marked the highest rate paid by the country since 1997, while the euro fell through the $1.30 level for the first time since January. In the UK, the FTSE's largest faller was silver miner Fresnillo, which dropped 10.7% after the FTSE Group said it would ...