Bond yields plunge as Wall Street woes push FTSE down 2%

Core government bond yields have tumbled this afternoon, as investors rush back to safe havens and stocks slump amid widespread selling.

Investors showed signs of panic, sparked by renewed fears over global growth, with risk assets including oil and equities heading south and investors piling into core government bonds in a re-run of recent flights to safety. In the US, the Dow opened down over 2%, while the S&P 500 dropped 2.1%. The falls prompting a further retreat for the FTSE 100, which eventually closed down 2.8% at just under 6,212. The frantic trading saw the Dow move over 600 points in little over half an hour, standing down 0.8% at 16,185 by 15:15 BST. Those falls were prompted by tumbling government bond y...