European markets took note of gloomy data in Asia today as more evidence emerged of the challenges facing the global economic recovery.
Japanese trade figures showed that the country's export sector continued to suffer the effects of a slowdown in the eurozone, while there was also another month of contraction among Chinese manufacturers.
Key Asian markets dropped by around 1% overnight and this was reflected in the FTSE 100 Index, which shed 40.5 points to 5848.2.
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