FTSE falls as Asian markets slump

London’s blue-chip index suffered a poor start to the week after sharp stock falls in Asia today, with property groups and miners among the early decliners.

The FTSE 100 has fallen 45.6 points (0.97%) to 4668.37 so far, with Liberty International leading the losses, down 3.98% to 468.3p.

Kazakhmys follows closely, 3.73% lower to 864p, while Land Securities is down 3.49% to 609p.

Miners Xstrata and Rio Tinto are also down, dropping 3.44% to 758p and 3.18% to £22.81 respectively.

Meanwhile, insurers Aviva and RSA are up this morning, rising 1.05% to 375.5p and 0.83% to 121.4p respectively.

Asian stocks plummeted on Monday, with Tokyo's Nikkei 225 falling 328.72 yen (3.1%) to close at 10,268.61, its biggest fall since March.

It came despite the country stepping out of recession, with its economy expanding for the first time in over a year. The falls were triggered by fears an unexpected fall in US consumer confidence could destabilise its progress.

The Dow Jones closed 76.79 points (0.82%) down on Friday, to 9321.4 points.