FTSE 100 declines despite modest rise by sterling against the dollar
It was a dull day in London, but New York appears headed in the right direction after a negative open
- FTSE 100 falls 18 points (0.3%)
- FTSE 250 sheds 144 points (0.6%)
- Serco higher after landing government contracts
5.05pm: FTSE ends lower, US indices shake off morning rust
London’s leading index closed Tuesday down 18 points, 0.3%, at 6,945, while the FTSE 250 lost 144 points, 0.6%, to 22, 433.
“European markets have struggled to maintain recent gains today, with the US open driving weakness on both sides of the Atlantic,” IG Senior Market Analyst Joshua Mahony wrote. “The recent shift in emphasis for traders has seen vaccination and reopening concerns replaced with a raft of earnings announcements that should help shape expectations for wider sector performance over Q1.”
In the US, the Dow has recovered from its early weakness, landing at just 12 points below the flatline at 33,969 just after noon. The Nasdaq was down 15 points, 0.1%, at 14,124, while the S&P 500 added 1 point to 4,189.
“Yesterday’s Tesla earnings brought a more tech-led focus, but that will only ramp-up further when we see earnings data from the likes of Alphabet and Microsoft,” Mahony wrote. “The wide divergence in market performance between tech and pro-cyclical stocks has led to a similar disparity in market expectations, where tech names face a relatively high marker compared with their hard-hit peers. With that in mind, the fact that we are seeing outperformance for US banks and restaurants over tech does highlight the questions over quite whether these momentum stocks will be able to justify their lofty valuations.”
4.10pm: FTSE 100 in the red this afternoon
The FTSE 100 was down 28 points (0.4%) at 6,936 close to the end of trading, faring a bit better than the mid-cap FTSE 250, thanks to a modest gain by sterling against the dollar.
The FTSE 250 was down 150 points (0.7%) at 22,427, despite a positive performance by Serco PLC (), which was up 1.5% at 143.5p after wangling another contract out of the government, this time from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to help job seekers in the Midlands and Wales as part of the UK government’s Restart programme.
Rupert Soames, Serco’s chief executive and the grandson of Winston Churchill and the nephew of former Conservative Defence Secretary Duncan Sandys was said to be delighted to have won the award, which was awarded after a competitive tendering process.
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