Gold, a shelter for investors in times of uncertainty, has surged during the past week by as much as 2.64pc, to $1,222.95 per ounce, as the Federal Reserve minutes hinted at delaying interest rate rises till later next year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped by 334.97 points, or 1.97pc, to close at 16,659.25 last night as Wall Street feared the US economy would be dragged down by weakness in Europe and the rest of the world.. The price of Brent crude also collapsed to its lowest level in five years at $89.42 per barrel.
“European markets looks like they are staring over the edge and into the abyss, or may have even stepped off the cliff,” added Mr McCaig as Ebola screening at UK airports and the discovery of new cases raised fears the deadly virus may have spread to the continent.
“European equities have plunged on the open as storm clouds gather over the global economy. Bad economic data is now being viewed as bad and the dovish signals from central banks are now being taken as a sign of weakness rather than a reason to ramp up equities,” said Mr Sudaria.
In Germany the benchmark DAX index collapsed by 196 points, or 2.16pc, to 8809.83, bringing the falls for the week to more than 4pc.