The FTSE 100 was trading just 0.1 per cent higher at 6,218 in morning trade, but well below the intra-day high of 6,282.95 reached in early deals.

The benchmark index closed down 2.8 per cent at a 15-month low of 6,211.64 on Wednesday.

Some market commentary holds that yesterday’s price action in financial markets may reflect deep-seated unease regarding the real underlying strength of the global economy.

In fact, record trading was seen in US government debt according to ICAP data. Extreme positioning in US dollars and a lack of clarity around the Federal Reserve’s communications were cited by some observers as additional factors which may have accentuated the volatility.

“European equities have woken up with a monumental hangover this morning,” said dealer Jonathan Sudaria fromCapital Spreads.

“It really was a complete rout in equity markets yesterday […] This definitely contains a hint of panicking; the global economic situation simply does not warrant this much of a sell-off,” he said.

US economic data will be in focus again on Thursday after retail-sales figures and New York manufacturing disappointed the previous session.

Jobless claims, industrial production, nationwide housing numbers and Philadelphia manufacturing data are all on the calendar, as well as speeches from key officials at the Federal Reserve.

Shire tumbles again, corporate updates impress

Shire, the pharmaceutical stock which dropped 22 per cent on Wednesday after Abbvie said it was reconsidering its $54bn bid for the firm, was down at further 9% after the US group recommended shareholders vote against the takeover due to changes in the US tax law. Abbvie said that these changes had introduced “an unacceptable level of uncertainty” to the deal.

Paper and packaging group Mondi was also in positive territory after saying it traded in line with expectations in the third quarter, though profits were held back by planned maintenance shutdowns as expected.

Also higher was distribution and outsourcing firm Bunzl as its reported that third-quarter revenue increased 6 per cent on a constant exchange rate basis as acquisitions came on stream.

Spirits group Diageo saw sales fall in its first quarter, but reassured investors by expressing optimism that its full-year top line would still improve on last year.

British Sky Broadcasting was subdued early on despite saying it made a strong start to the year, with profits ahead of expectations in the first quarter as subscriptions surged.

Mining titan BHP Billiton, which in the summer announced plans to de-merge $14bn of its non-core assets, gained after confirming that it will pursue a London flotation for the spin-off company.

Plumbers and builders merchant Wolseley was in the red after going ex-dividend.

Market Movers

techMARK 2,574.72 -0.47%
FTSE 100 6,217.73 +0.10%
FTSE 250 14,407.40 -0.13%

FTSE 100 – Risers
Ashtead Group (AHT) 909.00p +1.79%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 677.00p +1.65%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,390.00p +1.57%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 625.90p +1.44%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,150.00p +1.42%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 841.00p +1.20%
BG Group (BG.) 1,027.00p +1.18%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 808.00p +1.13%
Meggitt (MGGT) 428.70p +1.13%
Compass Group (CPG) 948.00p +1.07%

FTSE 100 – Fallers
Shire Plc (SHP) 3,639.00p -9.30%
Carnival (CCL) 2,158.00p -1.86%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,406.00p -1.51%
CRH (CRH) 1,262.00p -1.10%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,339.00p -0.96%
Capita (CPI) 1,104.00p -0.90%
Aggreko (AGK) 1,440.00p -0.83%
Royal Mail (RMG) 404.20p -0.79%
Wolseley (WOS) 3,065.00p -0.74%
G4S (GFS) 243.30p -0.69%

Source: ShareCast