London open: Stocks slump amid bond market selloff
(Sharecast News) - London stocks slid in early trade on Friday as the selloff in bond markets spooked investors.
At 0830 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.9% at 6,594.03.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "The tantrum in the bond market has inevitably spilled over into equities as the spectre of inflation increases.
"Despite the soothing noises of the Federal Reserve, the repricing of inflation expectations is of concern. With excessive liquidity in the system and with the likelihood of a major release of pent-up demand as pandemic restrictions ease, inflation could soon spiral. In turn, this would put pressure on central banks to raise interest rates to quell the rise, affecting corporate lending and, importantly, the US mortgage market."
In equity markets, Rightmove was in the red as it reported a drop in full-year profit as revenue took a hit after it gave discounts to customers during the coronavirus pandemic.
RSA Insurance was little changed as it posted a 15% rise in full-year operating profit to £751m ahead of its £7.2bn takeover by Denmark's Tryg and Canada's Intact Financial.
On the upside, British Airways and Iberia owner IAG flew higher despite swinging to a massive €7.4bn annual operating loss and pulling guidance for 2021, reflecting the impact of the Covid-19 crisis. The loss compares with a profit of €2.61m a year ago.
Jupiter Fund Management rallied after saying it ended 2020 with assets under management at a record high of £58.7bn.
Pets at Home gained as it upgraded its full-year outlook after a strong fourth quarter.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,594.03 -0.87%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,972.08 -1.07%
techMARK (TASX) 3,979.70 -0.65%
FTSE 100 - Risers
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 188.25p 1.07%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 6,004.00p 0.91%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,357.00p 0.77%
Unilever (ULVR) 3,847.00p 0.68%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 437.40p 0.52%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,560.50p 0.41%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,457.50p 0.38%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 7,029.00p 0.27%
Pennon Group (PNN) 892.80p 0.22%
Croda International (CRDA) 6,252.00p 0.19%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,164.00p -2.68%
Evraz (EVR) 582.40p -2.67%
BP (BP.) 297.15p -2.43%
Glencore (GLEN) 297.60p -2.43%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,363.00p -2.40%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 6,880.00p -2.36%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 396.40p -2.34%
M&G (MNG) 186.45p -2.31%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 263.70p -2.22%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,888.50p -2.20%
FTSE 250 - Risers
CMC Markets (CMCX) 435.00p 4.32%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 1,034.00p 2.58%
TP Icap Group (TCAP) 245.20p 2.42%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 416.25p 1.90%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 390.00p 1.83%
Signature Aviation (SIG) 399.50p 1.50%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 296.20p 1.44%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 265.20p 0.80%
Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 255.00p 0.39%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 97.15p 0.15%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 320.00p -6.43%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 2,375.00p -5.00%
Carnival (CCL) 1,514.00p -4.30%
SSP Group (SSPG) 337.60p -3.65%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 2,063.00p -3.46%
Edinburgh Worldwide Inv Trust (EWI) 361.50p -3.21%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 430.00p -3.04%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 193.30p -3.01%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 301.50p -2.74%
Law Debenture Corp. (LWDB) 705.00p -2.62%
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