FTSE 100 down

London’s top flight index sank further into the red as a slump from house builders and commodity stocks weighed heavily on the market.

The FTSE 100 Index was 69.6 points lower at 6231.9 following the release of a study by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, which said more surveyors were expecting prices to fall in the next three months than those predicting a rise.

The update took its toll on housing stocks, with Charles Church-owner Persimmon dropping 0.3%.

Sterling was down 0.4% against the dollar at 1.445 and up 0.3% against the euro at 1.277.