AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
FRA
GER
ESP
ITA
NLD
PRT
SWE
GRC
IND
POL
BRA
ZAF
RUS
CHN
UAE
Summary
- UK turned red in early, while FTSE 100 slipped over 1 per cent from day’s high
- Persisting Wall Street weakness continued to weigh on the London equities
- European markets also traded lower with France’s CAC 40 leading the losses
- FTSE 100 fell 1.1 per cent, to an intraday low of 6,989.11 from 7,066.76
- HSBC, British American, BP, Shell, and BHP were the major drags
UK shares fell into the negative region in the wee hours of trading with the headline FTSE 100 slipping more than 1 per cent from the day’s high as heavyweight components of the index suffered substantial losses.
London equities were poised to start the week on a positive footing as Stage 3 of reopening was expected to provide a much needed gush of optimism to the investors as most of the tourism, hospitality, international leisure and other avenues restarted as a part of planned easements.
The persisting weakness on Wall Street with the futures linked to Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) trading 0.40 per cent lower continued to weigh on the domestic equity sentiments. Most of the major European markets also moved in the negative territory with the Euronext Paris floated CAC 40 leading the losses.
As per the data available with various exchanges, DAX of Germany fell 0.34 per cent, to 15,364.37, CAC 40 of France shed 0.43 per cent, to 6,357.78, Italy’s FTSE MIB tripped 0.08 per cent, to 24,746.82, Spain’s IBEX 35 plunged 0.25 per cent, to 9,122.60, whereas SMI of Switzerland dropped 0.17 per cent, to 11,101.86.
Back in London, the benchmark FTSE 100 encountered a major loss as compared to the other market capitalisation based stock indices. According to the data available with the London Stock Exchange, FTSE 100 was trading 0.72 per cent, lower at 6,992.68 from the previous closing of 7,043.61.
FTSE 100 chart (17 May)
(Source: Refintiv, Thomson Reuters)
Notably, the index succumbed to heavy losses from the day’s peak as the key index fell 77.65 points or, 1.1 per cent, to an intraday low of 6,989.11 from the day’s top of 7,066.76, recognised in the early morning session when the index briefly oscillated above 7,050.
The large-cap heavyweight stocks of FTSE 100 provided the most negative points to the index as HSBC Holdings Plc (LON: HSBA), British American Tobacco Plc (LON: BATS), BP Plc (LON: BP), Royal Dutch Shell Plc (LON: RDSA), BHP Plc (LON: BHP), Glencore Plc (LON: GLEN), Prudential Plc (LON: PRU) and National Grid Plc (LON: NG) crashed 1-2 per cent.
Other heavyweights that suffered marginal correction include Rio Tinto Plc (LON: RIO), GlaxoSmithKline Plc (LON: GSK), Reckitt Benckiser Plc (LON: RB), Anglo American Plc (LON: AAL), Vodafone Group Plc (LON: VOD), London Stock Exchange Group Plc (LON: LSE), Relx Plc (LON: REL) and Lloyds Banking Group Plc (LON: LLOY).
The focus of domestic investors have gradually shifted to the upcoming macroeconomic releases scheduled to be declared in the present week. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is slated to announce the claimant count for April, employment change for February and unemployment rate for March tomorrow, while it will reveal the change in CPI-based and core inflation rate for the month of April on Wednesday, 19 May.
A clear visibility in the improving business prospects following the Stage 3 of planned easements is likely to bolster the capital market sentiments in the upcoming weeks as the ever expanding scale of immunisation programme continues to safeguard the communities across the United Kingdom.
