At the close, the FTSE100 was down 85.18 points at 5,126 with the FTSE250 off 201.33 points at 9,599.85 and the FTSE Smallcaps 27.83 points lower 2,753.05. Headline shares closed sharply lower as worse-than-expected US jobs data sent Wall Street tumbling, with the heavyweight mining sector particularly hit on concerns over falling demand. US stocks suffered heavy losses in late morning trade following disappointing May employment data. Approaching the close in London, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 234 points at 10,021, the S&P500 fell 23 points at 1,079 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 45 points at 2,258.

LONDON MARKETS

Worse-than-expected employment data from the US provided a major dampening influence on sentiment in London in the afternoon, adding to the ongoing concerns about global economies.  Oil producer BP (LON:BP.) was a rare winner, ahead 1.1p at 433.35p, following a re-assuring conference call, and as the chatter suggesting it is now a takeover target gathers pace.

Peer Shell slumped 33.5p at 1,740p and BG Group (LON:BG.) fell 11p at 1,069p, caught up in the general market downturn and with crude sliding below $73 a barrel.

Mining stocks moved lower as metals prices eased on US growth concerns, with Vedanta Resources (LON:VED) the worst of them, down 120p at 2,175p. Kazakhmys (LON:KAZ) lost 59p at 1,119p and Anglo American (LON:AAL) fell 87.5p at 2,517.5p, while BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) fell 68.5p at 1,771p and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) slipped 55p at 3,116p.

Banking issues lost any positive signs as the morning progressed as Eurozone troubles continued to spook investors, with Lloyds ticking down 1.86p at 55.44p and Barclays (LON:BARC) losing 14.1p at 288.6p, while RBS slipped 2.51p at 43.49p and Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) tumbled 63.5p at 1,621.5p.

Insurer Prudential (LON:PRU) ran out of friends as a management team shake-up failed to emerge after dumping its AIG deal, off 9.5p at 556p, while peer Aviva (LON:AV.) fell 10p at 329.1p and Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) stumbled 2.9p at 77.75p.

Pharmaceutical stocks were also on offer, with Shire (LON:SHP) the worst of them, down 31p at 1,434p. Glaxosmithkline (LON:GSK) dipped 18p at 1,175p and Astrazeneca (LON:AZN) lost 27p at 2,950p.

Blue chip…

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