- FTSE ends 23 points down 9,675.43
- Buffett invests in Google
- Wall Street set to open flat
- WPP up 5% on bid report
4.43pm: That’s a wrap, folks
A day that began with a whimper obliged by ending the same way. The FTSE 100 slipped 23 points to 9,675.43, closing on the wrong side of nowhere.
Across the pond, Wall Street sagged and Europe followed suit as traders waited for the long-delayed US data dump to finally land.
3:00pm: FTSE 100 edges lower
The FTSE 100 is off 20 points and the mood across markets is downbeat rather than dramatic.
Wall Street is still trying to shrug off last week’s wobble, but the premarket tone is more uneasy shuffle than confident stride.
US futures were mixed as traders picked over stretched valuations, a fast-moving sector rotation and yet another rethink on how generous the Federal Reserve might be with rate cuts.
S&P 500 futures edged up 0.1%, the Nasdaq-100 added 0.3%, while the Dow slipped 0.1% as defensives lost ground.
The early spark came from Alphabet, up more than 4% after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway revealed a fresh stake worth more than $4 billion. Berkshire has also trimmed its Apple holding by 15%, a move sure to stir fresh chatter about where the tech leadership rotates next.
10.55am: Shuffling sideways
The FTSE 100 is down 18 points and shuffling sideways on Monday, as investors brace for a week stuffed with US data that was stuck in limbo during Washington’s record-breaking shutdown.
The numbers are finally about to start dripping out, but the backlog means the next few days will be a statistical traffic jam.
Top of the queue is Thursday’s US jobs report. Analysts reckon payrolls should bounce to around 70-80,000 after August’s limp 22,000 reading.
Before that, we get construction spending today, factory orders tomorrow and trade numbers on Wednesday.
The Federal Reserve’s October meeting minutes also drop midweek, and traders will be hunting for clues on whether December still brings a rate cut or whether the central bank keeps its powder dry until it can see straight again.
Rate-cut odds that looked nailed-on a fortnight ago have slid below 50%, with the Fed potentially waiting until the fog lifts.
9.30am: Bitcoin stabilises, but for how long?
Bitcoin may be stabilising this morning, but it is doing so with a limp.
After crashing-landing from October’s record burst above $126,000, the cryptocurrency has finally found support just over $95,000, rising 2% in early London trading as bargain hunters edge back in. Even so, the market feels rattled.
The slide has been swift. Bitcoin is down almost a quarter in a matter of weeks and has lost 6% in the past seven days.
The reasons are not mysterious: a cocktail of forced selling, overextended leverage and a souring macro backdrop has drained confidence.
A spike in trade tensions earlier this month triggered a sharp liquidation across highly leveraged crypto positions. Retail traders who had piled into crypto-adjacent stocks also took heavy losses, adding to the selling pressure.
At the same time, capital that once chased Bitcoin as an inflation hedge has drifted towards equities and gold, both of which have hit fresh highs.
There is also the fear factor. Some traders worry that the four-year halving cycle is repeating its familiar script of euphoria followed by a bruising comedown.
Others think institutional buyers, after months of inflows through exchange-traded funds, have shifted to the sidelines until volatility settles.
The result is a market long on hope but short on conviction. Supporters point to improving liquidity conditions now that the US government shutdown is over, while sceptics see Bitcoin behaving like the risk asset it has always been.
This morning’s bounce helps. It does not yet heal the cracks.
8.18am: In the green, but only just
After a triple-digit decline on Friday, the ship was steadied a little as the FTSE 100 opened in the green on Monday – but only just.
The blue-chip index added three points at the open to 9,701.79 after a mainly down session in Asia earlier and against predictions of a nine-point decline.
The Footsie’s biggest riser was WPP after weekend reports suggested rival Havas may be running the slide-rule over parts of the business.
Private equity was also said to be having a look-see.
The fallers were a mix of natural resources and financial stocks.
7.15: A cocktail of concern
Tech worries, a Bitcoin implosion and the Fed’s reluctance to nail down a further US rate cut look set to dominate sentiment in London this morning, with the FTSE 100 expected to open around nine points lower after Friday’s bruising triple-digit fall.
Investors are heading into the week on edge as optimism over a December US rate cut continues to fade.
Jerome Powell has warned that another reduction is far from assured, and fellow policymakers have signalled similar doubts, pointing to inflation that remains stuck above the central bank’s 2% target.
A backlog of US economic data, delayed by the now-resolved government shutdown, adds another layer of uncertainty.
The tech sector, which powered markets higher through the spring and summer, is showing strain.
Traders are increasingly uneasy about stretched valuations, and Nvidia’s results later in the week are widely seen as a litmus test for the artificial-intelligence boom.
Crypto has not been spared. Bitcoin briefly sank below its end-2024 level, erasing all its gains for the year and reinforcing the shift towards risk aversion.
Asian trading offered little cheer. Markets in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Sydney slipped, while Tokyo was hit hardest after China advised its citizens not to travel to Japan, knocking retailers and tourism stocks.