London’s blue-chip shares extended early losses on Thursday as a new poll showed a lead for Leave in the EU referendum campaign.
The FTSE 100 Index was 43 points off at 5924 as the phone survey from Ipsos-Mori gave the Leave camp a six-point lead, on 53% versus 47%.
Markets will be anxiously waiting for another phone poll out later on Thursday from Survation, particularly as phone polls have come to be regarded as being more accurate than online polls.
The poll caused betting odds to tighten modestly in favour of Leave, to 60% for Remain versus 40% for Leave against 63% for Remain versus 37% for Leave beforehand.
Traders were focusing on the EU referendum after the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday that a UK departure from the EU was a risk to the US economy.
“The Federal Reserve specifically referred to Brexit as a risk to the US economy, upping the ante again for the ramifications of the vote on the global economy,” said
CMC Markets analyst Jasper Lawler said: “Brexit contagion does now to appear to be spreading beyond just the British pound.
“Sectors of the FTSE 100 sensitive to the UK economy, especially banks and home builders continued to be punished by investors ahead of the referendum.”
In equities, support services firm Pennant International Group PLC (LON:PEN) rose 9.6% to 57p on news of a training contract with US aircraft maker Lockheed Martin.
N Brown PLC (LON:BWNG) was in fashion with investors after the owner of the Jacamo and Simply Be brands did more business online, with 76% of new customer demand coming from the internet, up 8% against last time. Shares ticked up 7.1% to 229.7p.
Ariana Resources was also on the up, rising 5.26% to 1.5p after the Turkish gold explorer found a new vein system at its Kiziltepe project.
But PHSC plc (LON:PHSC) fell 14.3% to 24p as the health, safety, hygiene and environmental consultancy services group warned on annual results.
Investment firm 3i Group PLC (LON:III) was leading the market lower early doors, shedding 3.5% to 504p.
Of the small band of eight FTSE 100 risers, gold producer Randgold Resources Ltd (LON:RRS), up 3.9% to 6865p, was gaining support from risk-averse investors as the price of gold rose.
Preview at 6.53
After the Federal Reserve made no changes, the main issue for investors to chew over continues to be Britain’s pending European Union referendum.
Investors continue to be spooked by uncertainty and on Thursday London’s FTSE 100 is expected to start about 1% lower.
“The Federal Reserve specifically referred to Brexit as a risk to the US economy, upping the ante again for the ramifications of the vote on the global economy,” said Jasper Lawler, analyst CMC Markets.
“Brexit contagion does now to appear to be spreading beyond just the British pound.
“Sectors of the FTSE 100 sensitive to the UK economy, especially banks and home builders continued to be punished by investors ahead of the referendum.”
In New York, Wall Street benchmarks all edged lower on Wednesday. The Dow Jones shed 34 points, 0.2%, to 17,640 while both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq lost 0.18% each to 2,071 and 4,834 respectively.
Asian stocks were also lower.
The Nikkei gave up 3% to 15,439 after the Bank of Japan didn’t take an opportunity to provide further stimulus into its economy.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost just over 2% to 20,048, while the Shanghai Composite drifted 0.3% to 2,878.
Australia’s ASX 200 was essentially flat for the day, at 5,145.
Oil prices have again been pressured, with Brent crude dropping 2.6% to US$48.56 per barrel and WTI futures seen at around US$47.55.
The price of gold rose more than 1.1% to US$1,300 for an ounce.
In London, CFD and spread betting group IG Markets sees the FTSE 100 sharply lower for Thursday – calling the benchmark at 5,913 to 5,918 about an hour before the start of trading.