Market overview: Stocks drop with a thump as oil crashes again

1630:Close Further reports of tensions in China’s banking system, centred in part on Shanghai, and another very sharp move lower in crude oil futures sapped risk appetite, sending miners’ shares substantially lower by the end of trading. Randgold Resources and Centamin benefited from the renewed risk aversion, with the price of gold one of the few assets in positive territory. Mixed US economic data did little to prop up stockmarkets. In the afternoon, two Fed speakers put a brave face on the current economic outlook for the US, despite which yields on 10-year US Treasury notes headed below the 2.0% mark. FTSE 100 down 114.13 points to 5,804.10.

1606: Front month West Texas crude futures are lower by 5.37% to $29.61 per barrel on the ICE - its lowest since early 2003.

1500: Consumer confidence improved at the start of 2015, with the University of Michigan's preliminary reading for January rising to 93.3 from 92.6 (consensus: 92.9), thanks to the improvement seen in a sub-index of consuemrs' expectations. Expectations for inflation five to ten years out edged higher to 2.7% from 2.6%.

1415: Industrial production Stateside fell at a 0.4% month-on-month clip in December led by a 0.8% drop in output of consumer goods. capacity utilisation slipped tp 76.5% from 76.9% (consensus: 76.8%).

1330: US retail sales volumes dipped by 0.1% month-on-month in December (consensus: 0.1%), after an upwardly revised gain of 0.4% in the month before.

1330: The Federal Reserve bank of New York's regional manufacturing gauge dropped in January from a reading of -4.59 to -19.37 (consensus: -4.0).

1330: Three-month copper futures are off by 1.1% to $4,320.25 per metric tonne on the LME.

1259: Citigroup has reported a better-than-expected EPS of $1.06 per share for the fourth quarter (consensus: $1.05).

1000: The Eurozone's trade surplus increased to €22.7bn in November after a reading of €19.9bn in the prior month (consensus: €21.0bn)

0930: UK construction output slipped 0.5% month-on-month in November (consensus: 0.5%).

0834: Stocks are drifting slightly lower, caught in another downdraft after another decline in crude oil futures. A massive writedown from BHP Billiton has done little to help sentiment, although Experian is moving higher on the heels of its latest financials. According to some reports the IAEA may give the greenlight as soon as today for nuclear sanctions against Iran to be lifted by next Monday. A raft of US economic data is scheduled for release later in the session, including the latest numbers on retail sales and consumer confidence. Speeches from two Fed speakers may also draw renewed attention, should they make any policy-relevant remarks. That comes as markets are pricing in just one more hike from the Fed in 2016, versus two at the beginning of the year. Chinese stocks have ended lower despite a largely unchanged fixing for the yuan this morning. FTSE 100 down 13.36 to 5,904.87.