Mid-morning and the London index is stuck below the 6000 mark.

Downgraded growth forecasts by the IMF for the US economy, poor retail sales figures out of the UK and news from Japan that the nuclear crisis continues to worsen has hit risk appetite hard across the globe, with the downbeat theme continuing after the release of a sharper-than-expected decline in UK inflation in the last hour. All told, equity traders are starting to look rather more bearish, and with a run of holidays coming up, the risk now has to be that volumes start to dry up and the downward trend continues. The FTSE has now made a break back below the key 6000 level and assuming there’s no quick reversal here, this will add to the feelings of woe.

After last night’s disappointing results from Alcoa, Wall Street remains very much on the back foot, and we’re currently eyeing the Dow to open around 70 points lower. Again, there’s a general lack of directional information expected although the continuing retreat in oil prices could well provide some pockets of cheer. Expect the US trade balance data to be under scrutiny too, but unless there are any surprises laid on the table in the next few hours it could prove to be a somewhat forgettable afternoon.