Global markets in the red after losses in Japan

The FTSE 100 was down as much as 0.5% this morning, mimicking losses seen globally, as investors reacted to poor economic data.

Employment data in the US on Friday continues to have repercussions for markets after it missed forecasts, with Japanese stocks diving over 3% overnight Tuesday as investors played catch-up after a public holiday Monday. The Nikkei closed down 3.1% this morning - also impacted by a stronger yen - and preceded falls across Europe today. Shares in major European markets including Germany, France and Italy were all lower, while the UK also suffered initially dropping as much as 1% in early trading. By early afternoon the FTSE 100 had recovered much of its losses, sitting down just 0.1...