Britain’s leading stock index tumbled on Friday, following the lead of European shares in a broad sell-off as investors were spooked by the prospect of a tightening of financial conditions and political risk.
The FTSE 100 on Friday sank 23.33 points, or 0.3 percent, to 7,681.07, falling 0.3 percent from a close of 7,701.77 on June 1.
Germany’s DAX dropped 44.50 points, or 0.4 percent, to 12,766.55, an increase of 0.3 percent from 12,724.27 a week earlier.
The pan-European STOXX 600 also edged down 0.82 points, or 0.2 percent, to 385.12, shedding 0.5 percent from a close of 386.91 on Friday last week.
The FTSE 100 saw its third straight week of losses and its worst week in more than two months.
Risk appetite dried up this week as investors in Europe warily eyed a new Italian government and the European Central Bank indicated that it could end ultra-loose monetary policy earlier than expected.
Stark divisions on trade ahead of a G7 leaders’ summit that began on Friday added to investors’ anxieties.
“Events going on that people point to, such as the G7 meeting, are all idiosyncratic things that have their impact, but I think often what you see is a broader story underneath that is affecting everything and is probably exacerbating those situations,” Agilis Investment Management chief investment officer Clark Fenton said.
“I think it comes back to quantitative tightening,” he added.
On Friday, financials were the biggest drag on the FTSE 100, selling off sharply with HSBC Holdings PLC, Prudential Financial Inc, Lloyds Banking Group PLC and Barclays PLC falling 0.5 percent to 1.3 percent.
Energy and mining stocks also sank as investors shed all the sectors seen as most exposed to the business cycle.
Antofagasta PLC, Fresnillo PLC, Anglo American PLC, BHP Billiton PLC and Glencore PLC fell 1.5 percent to 3.1 percent, while oil majors BP PLC and Royal Dutch Shell PLC dropped 0.8 percent to 1 percent.
Standard Life Aberdeen PLC shares dropped 3.5 percent, the worst performer on the FTSE 100 after Lloyds Banking sold its remaining stake in the asset manager.
The sell-off took the FTSE 100 to its lowest in more than a week.
Having underperformed European stocks since the June 2016 Brexit vote, it has come back to strength recently, although the past three weeks have driven renewed volatility.
The one silver lining on Friday was telecoms firm BT Group PLC, which outperformed the market and was up 0.6 percent after saying that CEO Gavin Patterson would step down later this year after a poorly received recovery plan.
Auto Trader Group PLC shares also gained 2.3 percent on the mid-cap index, extending its rally since reporting results on Thursday as brokers increased their ratings on the stock.
KAZ Minerals dropped to the bottom of the FTSE 250, down 6.5 percent while mining peers Hochschild Mining PLC and Centamin PLC also fell 2.5 percent to 3 percent.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last