The FTSE 100 dropped sharply on Thursday morning following the wider market sell-off, while gilt yields spiked to their high level in over a year, after Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said QE would be slowed later this year.
The benchmark 10-year gilt yield climbed 16bps to 2.297%, its highest level since March 2012. As gilt yields rose, the UK's blue chip index fell 1.9% in early morning trading to 6,226 by 9.44 am, following a sell-off in US and Asian markets overnight. Bernanke rattled markets after stating the US central bank will slow down quantitative easing by the end of the year and put an end to it completely in 2014 if the US economy continues to improve. In the UK, mining stocks experienced the biggest sell off, with the likes of Randgold, Polymetal and Rio Tinto down 5.6%, 4.2% and 4.5%, re...
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