FTSE plunges on severe rise in US job losses

The FTSE 100 has fallen sharply this afternoon on news 131,000 jobs were shed in the US last month.

At 1.57pm, the index was trading at 5,351.41, a fall of 48.54 points from its trading level prior to the announcement, wiping out all of the day's gains. Intraday, it is now down 0.27% or 14.37 points. European indices also fell, Germany's Dax down 0.55% to 6,298.94 and France's CAC 40 shedding 0.67% to 3,738.95. In addition, the US dollar fell 0.28% against sterling, to $1.5935. It also plummeted to an eight-month low against the yen, falling to 85.49, from around 86 before the data. The euro rose to $1.3210, from around $1.3180. The 131,000 fall marks the second month in a row th...