The index has advanced despite more signs of economic weakness in China where data showed that activity in the country’s factory sector had unexpectedly shrunk to a six-and-a-half-year low this month.

In Toronto, a major center for mining finance, the stock market’s materials index-home to miners of gold, copper and potash, among other commodities-was down 4.2% on the day, bringing its 12-month drop to 30%.

Heavy falls among blue chip mining stocks sent the FTSE 100 Index 60.2 points lower at 6048.5, with broker downgrades for a number of major players sparking further falls in the sector. “This feels more technically driven than fundamentals [driven]”, he noted.

Engineer Smiths Group led the blue-chip risers, up 4 per cent or 36p to 1065p after it said better margins helped its profit to edge higher in the year to the end of July, despite revenue falling.

The fresh outbreak of anxiety came as traders struggled to digest the implications of the crisis at carmaker Volkswagen, which admitted to installing software in 11m cars to baffle U.S. emissions tests.

Nomura Holdings said in a report on Monday that the oversupply in copper would double to 598,000 tonnes by 2017 and prices were expected to decline.

He said job cuts were not necessarily a given as a result of the slide in share prices, and that well managed companies would probably shrug off the declines and concentrate on stabilising their operations.

The AA was 13% lower, down 43.7p to 289.6p, after revealing it slumped into the red with half-year losses of £63.6 million and said its turnaround could be held back by new insurance premium taxes and European Union employment legislation.

Such was the selling pressure on Glencore that its shares were suspended twice during the day, at 8.56am and at 1.22pm, when a single order would have put the share price down by 3% or more, according to the London Stock Exchange.

Brenda Kelly, head analyst at London Capital Group, said IAG looks set to be one of the main beneficiaries of lower fuel hedging costs.

The rout across metals and mining shares has accelerated as evidence of China’s slowdown has renewed investor worries and analysts warn prices are heading lower. Commodities were also hurt by a strengthening of the dollar, after US Federal Reserve officials signalled the world’s biggest economy could still raise interest rates this year.