Global market sell-off continues as risk appetite wanes

Global markets continued their downward trend this morning as fears re-emerged about the state of European and the US economies.

The FTSE 100 traded lower this morning, declining 0.6% or 33 points to 5,670, following on from yesterday's loss of 2.3% The falls have been mirrored by the European markets, with the German Dax down 1.1% to 6,709, while the French has posted a loss of 0.77% to 3,287 at 12pm. A weaker than expected Spanish bond auction and a signal from the Federal Reserve that QE3 is now on hold led to declines across Western and Eastern stock markets. Risk assets sold off after minutes from the Fed's 13 March meeting surprised markets in their more hawkish tone, appearing to rule out more quantit...