Global equity sell-off sees FTSE slump

Market report Emma Newlands

London’s blue-chip index fell by more than 1 per cent as investors reacted to a drop in global equities by cashing in their UK positions.

The FTSE 100 ended the day down about 83.55 points at 7,587.98, with banks taking the largest hit.

David Madden, a market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: “It is a broad decline on London as dealers are cashing in their positions and locking in profits.” He added that the large sell-off in the US the previous night “got traders nervous – and now the fear has spread”.

Madden noted the sea of red across financial stocks, with fears of another housing crash hitting the likes of Standard Chartered, which was down nearly 2.9 per cent at 814.1p

Additionally, a slight recovery in sterling did little to boost interest in UK stocks. The pound was trading higher by nearly 0.5 per cent against the US dollar at $1.414, and was up 0.3 per cent versus the euro at €1.140.

Kingfisher fell 4.1p to 351p amid news its B&Q business was swinging the axe on 200 head office jobs as part of a cost-cutting drive, while Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banking Group dropped 12.4p to 318.8p after warning that growth in mortgage lending would slow amid competition in the sector.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 included Reckitt Benckiser Group, up 93p at 6,880p, Coca Cola HBC, up 23p at 2,424p, and Halma, up 8p at 1,275p.

The biggest fallers included Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, down 13.6p at 463.4p, Barclays, down 5.9p at 201.75p, and Royal Bank of Scotland, down 8.2p at 292p. Publisher Informa has secured a £3.9 billion takeover of rival UBM in a deal creating the world’s largest business-tobusiness events group. The Imperial Leather owner saw profits suffer after high inflation encouraged shoppers to swap brand name soaps for discounted rivals.