FTSE drops amid thin trading as Wall Street stocks slip
The FTSE 100 finished 28.77 points, or 0.35%, higher to end the day at 8,121.01.
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Your support makes all the difference.London’s top markets slipped back on Monday as it was dragged back by a fresh sell-off of technology stocks in the US.
Market sentiment was cautious throughout trading during a session largely devoid of major company or economic news.
Retailers, including JD Sports and Next, were among the day’s weaker performers as analysts digested weak early footfall and retail sales data for the key Christmas period.
The FTSE 100 finished 28.77 points, or 0.35%, higher to end the day at 8,121.01.
London’s top equity index had been making a gradual improvement through the session on Monday but saw this knocked off course after a weak Wall Street opening.
Stateside, US stocks slipped to a one-week low as sparse trading volumes and rising treasury yields knocked sentiment.
In mainland Europe, the key markets slipped as they were also dampened by US pessimism.
The Cac 40 ended 0.57% lower for the day and the Dax index was down 0.38%.
Meanwhile, sterling’s recent rebound against the dollar took a step backwards.
The pound was down 0.49% at 1.251 US dollars but up 0.04% at 1.205 euros.
In London’s equity markets, aerospace firms Rolls-Royce and Melrose saw shares step backwards amid the fallout of the South Korean plane crash that killed 179 people.
Boeing, which makes the 737-800 aircraft operated by Jeju Air in the crash, saw shares slide in the US after trading opened, dragging other stocks in the sector with them.
Rolls-Royce was down 1.3% after the session, while Melrose was down 0.6%.
Elsewhere, Proton Motor Power Systems saw shares tumble further after the fuel cell firm said it plans to withdraw its shares from the AIM market.
It came as the company said it is exploring strategies to continue operations on a reduced-cost basis, including settling with creditors. Shares in the business were down 15.4% at 0.28p.
Shares in Discount Dragon owner Huddled moved higher after the online retail business took control of cosmetics business Boop Beauty.
Huddled invested in Boop earlier in the year and confirmed on Monday that it has now bought the final 25% stake in the platform. Shares in the AIM-listed group were up 3.7% at 3.06p.
The price of oil nudged higher after the World Bank upgraded its forecasts for China’s economic growth for both this and next year.
A barrel of Brent crude oil was up by 0.51% to 74.17 dollars (£59.23) as markets were closing in London.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Whitbread, up 35p to 2,945p, Pershing Square, up 40p to 3,804p, Schroders, up 3.2p to 316.6p, Airtel Africa, up 0.9p to 114.1p, and IAG, up 2p to 304.1p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Fresnillo, down 14.5p to 616p, St James’s Place, down 16.5p to 849p, Antofagasta, down 28.5p to 1,590.5p, Endeavour Mining, down 24p to 1,392p, and Rolls-Royce, down 7.6p to 570.4p.