London close: Political uncertainty hits stocks hard

The UK market suffered steep falls on Wednesday as risk appetite was hit by disappointing economic data from China, political uncertainty in Portugal and fears of a military coup in Egypt.Nerves were also on edge ahead of policy decisions from the Bank of England and European Central Bank tomorrow, as well as the all-important US jobs report on Friday which could determine when the Federal Reserve will begin to scale back stimulus.The FTSE 100 finished 74 points lower at 6,230 today, a fall of nearly 1.2%, though the index closed well off its intraday low of 6,185 after some strong labour-market data from the States prompted a strong start on Wall Street. US jobless claims fell by more than expected last week while the ADP employment report - often seen as a rough indicator to Friday's government figures - showed a much strong-than-forecast increase in private payrolls.Economic data disappoints; chaos in Portugal and EgyptThe London market got off to a poor start this morning after official data from the Chinese services sector showed that business activity fell to a nine-month low in June: the Chinese non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) declined from 54.3 to 53.9 last month.The Eurozone services PMI also disappointed, falling from 48.6 to 48.3 in June (forecast: no change). However, one bright spot came from the UK where economic data continues to impress: the UK services PMI rose from 54.9 to 56.9, its best reading since March 2011 (forecast: 55.0).Political turmoil in Portugal was a major concern for markets today after resignations of both the Finance Minister and Foreign Minister over the last few days. There are concerns that early elections may occur given that anti-austerity rallies continue to gather support.Meanwhile, a showdown between Egyptian military and President Mohammed Morsi continued to make headlines today as the Premier refuses to step down despite violent protests sweeping the country.FTSE 100: Miners hit in market sell-offMining stocks were once again bearing the brunt of a fall in risk appetite after the disappointing economic data from China. Anglo American, Glencore Xstrata, BHP Billiton, Vedanta and Antofagasta were among the worst performers. Among the risers today was engineer and automotive components maker GKN after data out last night showed that US vehicle sales came in much better than expectations in June. Tullow Oil was also firmly higher after a strong first-half operational update. The company said that revenue totalled $1.3bn, slightly ahead of the $1.2bn reported the year before, as the company upgraded its resource estimates for certain projects in Kenya. Sector peer Shell however fell despite revealing upbeat drilling results from an exploratory well in the Gulf of Mexico. The well, located 75 miles offshore in the De Soto Cayon Block 393, encountered more than 500ft of net oil pay, but that wasn't enough to boost the share price today.Burberry was trading firmly in the red after going ex-dividend, along with heavyweights British Land and Babcock.Banking group Barclays was also lower after S&P cut its credit rating by one notch, saying that its debt holders "face heightened credit risk owing to the industry's tighter regulation, fragile global markets, stagnant European economies and rising litigation risk stemming from the financial crisis".UBS upgraded its rating for chip designer ARM Holdings from 'neutral' to 'buy', causing shares to rise strongly today, as the broker downplayed recent negative newsflow regarding concerns over rising competition.FTSE 250: Miners hit in market sell-offTelecoms testing company Spirent Communications slumped after saying revenue in the first half would fall 20% due to lower orders in the first quarter and weak performance at its networks and applications unit.Domino's Pizza Group retreated after warning annual losses at its fledging German business would be higher than anticipated due to an increase in training costs and poor performance at some of its stores. PZ Cussons continued to rise after the consumer products group announced on Tuesday it would buy Australian baby food company Rafferty's Garden. The stock was given an extra boost today by Canaccord Genuity which upgraded the shares to 'buy'.FTSE 100 - RisersTullow Oil (TLW) 1,061.00p +2.71%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 212.40p +2.66%GKN (GKN) 307.80p +1.92%ITV (ITV) 146.90p +1.73%ARM Holdings (ARM) 820.50p +1.61%London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 1,416.00p +1.43%TUI Travel (TT.) 360.20p +1.15%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,704.00p +1.13%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,184.00p +0.84%G4S (GFS) 226.40p +0.80%FTSE 100 - FallersAnglo American (AAL) 1,207.00p -5.70%CRH (CRH) 1,292.00p -4.58%Weir Group (WEIR) 2,077.00p -3.80%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,009.00p -2.89%Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,086.00p -2.60%Glencore Xstrata (GLEN) 269.00p -2.54%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,370.00p -2.49%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,427.50p -2.46%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,845.00p -2.38%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,670.50p -2.37%FTSE 250 - RisersRegus (RGU) 168.90p +5.04%PZ Cussons (PZC) 389.70p +4.48%Kier Group (KIE) 1,214.00p +3.67%Workspace Group (WKP) 423.00p +2.87%Alent (ALNT) 353.50p +2.67%Dignity (DTY) 1,440.00p +2.35%Hiscox Ltd (HSX) 574.50p +2.22%Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 1,000.00p +2.04%Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 114.80p +2.04%Galliford Try (GFRD) 975.00p +1.99%FTSE 250 - FallersSpirent Communications (SPT) 124.80p -7.14%Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 641.50p -4.11%De La Rue (DLAR) 946.00p -3.96%UBM (UBM) 639.00p -3.91%Mondi (MNDI) 810.50p -3.74%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 134.50p -3.72%Homeserve (HSV) 275.10p -3.68%Renishaw (RSW) 1,500.00p -3.16%Fenner (FENR) 306.20p -3.01%Perform Group (PER) 490.00p -2.97%