Shares in commodity giant Glencore plunged almost 30% after analysts raised fears about lower metal prices.
The company’s shares dropped to a new record low of 69p on Monday, helping push the FTSE 100 down 2%.
Analysts warned slumping metal prices could leave Glencore shares almost worthless because of its heavy debts.
Fears over Glencore’s £20bn debt pile have seen its shares drop more than 30% in the past month.
More than £3.5bn was wiped off Glencore’s market value after a warning from analysts at Investec.
They wrote that low metals prices “could see almost all equity value eliminated” at the Switzerland-based company.
They also questioned how much Glencore could raise from selling its agriculture division, as “valuing such a volatile business is likely to be tough”.
Glencore hopes to generate up to $12bn (£7.9bn) from the sale of its grains business to reduce its debt burden.
