London's FTSE 100 Enters Bear Market, in Five Charts

This time last year, Britain’s equities were on a roll, heading toward a record. Now they’re joining other European markets such as Germany, France and Spain in bear territory.

With Wednesday’s 3.5 percent decline in the FTSE 100 Index, the gauge closed 20 percent below the record it reached last April. The chief culprits were miners and energy companies -- they account for 17 percent of the benchmark measure, and gauges tracking them have slumped to their lowest levels in more than a decade.