Shares dip despite shutdown deal in Washington
The FTSE 100 closed the day down 1.3% or 97.36 points, ending at 7,510.72.
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Your support makes all the difference.European stock markets started October without much positivity on Monday despite legislators on the other side of the pond reaching a deal to keep the US government open.
The FTSE 100 closed the day down 1.3% or 97.36 points, ending at 7,510.72.
It came amid falls for some of the UK’s energy companies, with Centrica, SSE and National Grid all trading down.
Very few companies, meanwhile, traded in the green during the day.
The calculus here appears to be that this deal, while averting a crisis of confidence in US governance, shifts attention back to the resilience of the US economy, and the prospect of further rate hikes from the Federal Reserve
Only eight FTSE 100 companies ended the day in positive territory.
European markets also struggled, with Germany’s Dax and France’s Cac 40 both giving back 0.9% of their value.
“It’s been a disappointing start to the new quarter and the week for European markets with broad weakness across the board, with the agreement of a deal to avert a US government shutdown serving to push US yields higher, along with the US dollar,” said Michael Hewson, an analyst at CMC Markets.
“The calculus here appears to be that this deal, while averting a crisis of confidence in US governance, shifts attention back to the resilience of the US economy, and the prospect of further rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.”
However markets in New York put in a much better showing than their European counterparts.
The S&P 500 was trading down 0.1% shortly after trading ended in London, and the Dow Jones was down 0.3%.
The pound fell 0.5% against the dollar to 1.213, while rising 0.1% to 1.155 against the euro.
There was little company news from London on Monday, with shares in investment bank Peel Hunt up 2.4% after it reported it was on track to meet guidance despite pressure from inflation and interest rates.
Elsewhere shares in Pendragon rose 5.6% to 35.15p after suitor Lithia offered to buy the business at 35.4p per share, upping the stakes in a bidding war for the car dealership.
Pendragon and Lithia had already agreed a 27.4p-per-share bid earlier in September, but last week two others, AutoNation and Hedin Bil in combination with Penske, put in rival bids for the company.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Intercontinental Hotels Group, up 82p to 6,156p, BAE Systems, up 11.2p to 1,009p, Entain, up 8.2p to 941p, United Utilities, up 2.4p to 950.6p, and Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, up 1.6p to 671.2p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Beazley, down 21p to 532.5p, SSE, down 57.5p to 1,552.5p, NatWest Group, down 8p to 227.7p, RS Group, down 24.8p to 710.6p, and Centrica, down 5.15p to 149.3p.