The U.K. market is falling in afternoon trading Tuesday, led by banks and miners. Sentiment was impacted by global economic worries and weak cues from Asia/Pacific.
Crude for October delivery is sliding $0.92 per barrel at $73.78 and gold is declining $3.0 an ounce at $1235.
In economic news, mortgage lending in the U.K. fell markedly in July even as the number of mortgages approved rose slightly compared to June. The Bank of England said net lending secured on dwellings increased GBP 0.1 billion, well below the June increase of GBP 0.5 billion. A total of 48,722 mortgages were approved during July, up from the 48,562 approved in June.
Germany's unemployment rate remained at 7.6% in August, matching economists' expectations, data from Federal Labor Agency showed. There were 17,000 fewer unemployed in Germany in August compared to July. Economists were expecting a fall of 20,000. In July, unemployment decreased by 21,000.
The euro area's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 10% in July, in line with expectations, official figures revealed. Eurostat said 15.8 million people were registered unemployed in the eurozone, with the number of unemployed decreasing by 8,000 compared to the previous month.
The FTSE 100 opened at 5,202 and has been languishing in negative territory. The index is currently losing 0.90%.
InterContinental Hotels is the highest percentage loser on the index, having fallen 3.65%.
Falling miners are led by Eurasian Natural Resources, which is declining 2.56%. Xstrata, Kazakhmys and Antofagasta are sliding between 1.6% and 1.4%. BHP Billiton is dipping 0.9% and Rio Tinto is down 0.3%.
Lender Barclays is losing 2.79% and Lloyds banking group is slipping 2.18%. Standard Chartered is down 1.15%.
Royal Dutch Shell and BP are declining about 1.6% each.
Chip maker Arm Holdings is gaining the most by adding 4.38%. Reckitt Benckiser, which revealed an approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its Suboxone Sublingual film, is rising about 2%. After reporting higher profit for the first half of the year, outsourcing firm Bunzl is rising 1.9%.
Elsewhere in Europe, the German DAX is declining 0.86% and the French CAC 40 is retreating 1.25%.
Across Asia/Pacific, most major markets ended in negative territory. Australia's All ordinaries lost 0.99%, China's Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.52%, Japan's Nikkei 225 plunged 3.55% and India's BSE Sensex slipped 0.34%.
The U.S. futures indicate a lower open on Wall Street. In the previous session, the Dow plunged 1.4%, the Nasdaq declined 1.6% and the S&P 500 lost 1.5%.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.