FTSE Shares Slide

Shares in the UK’s top 100 companies took a tumble by more than 1% in morning trading.Possible mining taxes, pessimistic views on the US economy, a fall in Chinese markets and the escalating problems in Iran all contributed to a poor financial day in the City.

The benchmark index has been trading at six-year highs in recent days but fell more than 100 points at one stage, in line with most major global indices.

Heavily-weighted miners led the Footsie lower, occupying the top seven slots on the blue-chip fallers’ board.

Speculation that the South African government may introduce a “windfall tax” on the industry knocked the sector, with Xstrata among those stocks falling by more than 4%.

Stocks stock another hit after America’s former Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan who warned that the world’s biggest economy may fall into recession by the end of 2007.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down after a strong start.

Meanwhile, worries about UK businesses with strong US operations hit stocks, with banks set to feel the pressure.

BAE Systems fell nearly 3%. Unsurprisingly given that BAE predicted the majority of its growth from its US operations.