Investors took fright over growing tensions in the Middle East, a slow response to calls for stimulus in China and concerns over prolonged interest rates.

Miners took the brunt of the negative sentiment, dragging the FTSE 100 lower for a fourth consecutive session yesterday.

Antofagasta fell 27p to 1297p, Glencore slipped 6.75p to 428.75p and Anglo American was 29.5p off at 2031.5p.

The slide was shared by energy stocks with BP down 13.25p at 532.25p and Harbour Energy by 8p to 252¼p.

Flutter Entertainment, owner of Paddy Power and FanDuel, rose to the top of the leaderboard, up 505p to £129.55p on the back of a positive note from Exane BNP Paribas.

The FTSE 100 closed 27.31 points lower at 7,374.83. The Dow Jones industrial average closed 0.6% lower.