New financial package fails to buoy FTSE

The London markets slid after traders were left largely unimpressed by the breadth of the new economic package announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

A continued rise in case numbers in the UK weighed on sentiment at the start of the session, but the plans for a new Job Support Scheme did little to turn the tide.

Meanwhile, economists at JP Morgan were among those to warn that the latest economic package was comparably “small”.

The FTSE 100 closed 76.48 points lower at 5,822.78.

Con nor Campbell, financial analyst at Spread ex, said :“Disappointed by R is hi Sunak’s Winter Economy Plan, yet alarmed by the need for it in the first place, the FTSE was easily the worst-hit index yesterday.

“Though there seemed to be a brief moment of respite around lunchtime, the European markets soon resumed the session’s heavy losses.”

The Eurozone indices were only marginally better as they saw sentiment drift after two broadly mixed trading days.

Across the Atlantic, the Dow Jones held off making any major moves, nudging only marginally higher after the opening bell.

Meanwhile, sterling made minor inroads, stemming its recent slump against the US greenback.

The pound rose by 0.08 per cent versus the US dollar at $1.274 and was up 0.42 per cent against the euro at €1.092.

Travel firms made significant losses again as worries over the continuing spread of the virus hit the likes of Carnival and British Airways owner IAG.

In company news, Cineworld dived in value after it warned that further global coronavirus restrictions or film delays may force it to raise further cash. The group swung to a $1.6 billion (£1.3bn) loss for the six months to 30 June from pre-tax profits of $139.7 million (£110m) a year ago as revenues plummeted after lockdowns forced cinemas to close. It saw shares drop by 7.16p to 41.36p at the close of play.

Sofa retailer DFS slipped after it swung to a statutory pre-tax loss of £74.9m for the year to 28 June. Its shares fell by 7.6p to 160.4p despite the company reporting that the new financial year had started“very strongly” due to pent-up demand.