London's FTSE 100 closed sharply lower on Wednesday as Standard Chartered topped the losers' list for a second successive session, while markets grew jittery about a possible Donald Trump electoral victory.
The blue-chip index closed down 1% at 6845, dragged lower by the Asia-focused bank by 4.3% to 644.1p after Tuesday’s despairing third-quarter update.
As oil prices came off sharply, following a record jump in US oil stockpiles by 14.4mln barrels in the week to Oct. 28, the EIA said, and compared with expectations for an increase of 1.0mln barrels, oil companies such as Royal Dutch Shell were the next big losers. After notching up good gains the previous session on its earnings, Shell (LON:RDSA) shares were down 2.9% to 2054.5p.
But retailer Next (LON:NXT) was among the top gainers, adding 3.5% to 4979p after the chain maintained its profit forecast.
But that made Next second-highest riser next to the leader, miner Fresnillo (LON:FRES), up 3.6% to 1780p.
Meanwhile, the mid-cap FTSE 250 ended down 0.3% at 17,463 and led by Tullow Oil (LON:TLW) down 5.3% to 251.2p as weaker oil prices bit the stock too.
Brent Crude Oil came off 3.2% to $46.61 in the wake of the dramatic and depressing EIA data.
There were sharp declines among smaller stocks too. The FTSE AIM 100 Index shed 0.8% to 3907 and the FTSE AIM All-Share Index was down 0.6% to 816.
In all, only 20% London stocks gained this session, versus 44% which lost.
With the latest national opinion polls showing that Trump is in the lead versus market darling Hillary Clinton, investors are starting to re-price positions in case he defies hitherto expectations.
Midsession
FTSE down as US dips on opening
Next shares gain despite fall in sales
Gold rallies on fears of Trump win
London's blue chips headed lower as Wall Street fell again in early trades.
FTSE 100 was 57 points lower at 6,860, its worst for the day, as US investors fretted about the possibiity that Donald Trump may be their next president.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened aroud 24 points lower.
A poll yesterday that suggested the controversial Trump was in the lead sparked heavy selling overnight in most markets and again today the mood was nervous.
Gold predicatbly did well as some punters decided to have a bit of insurance in the event of a Trump victory. The price of the metal topped US$1,300 per ounce and Randgold Resoruces (LON:RRS) added 2% to 7,550p.
Best of the rest was retailer Next (LON:NEX) after it maintained its profit guidance despite another poor sales quarter. Shares rose 3% to 4,959p.
FTSE 100 down on hair raising prospect of Trump win ... 12.15pm
On the broker front, Easyjet (LON:EZJ) has received a double upgrade from HSBC, which sees the low cost airline as cheap compared to rival Ryanair (LON:RYA).
The broker’s rationale is straightforward enough.
Either Easyjet’s management takes the necessary steps to turn trading around and reduce the current valuation discount to Ryanair or someone else will.
Target price rises to 1,150p from 800p and the shares rose to 2.8% to 966p.
Meanwhile FTSE 100 was down 28 at 6,889.
FTSE 100 down but sterling plays its Trump card ... 11.15am
The FTSE has recovered some of this morning’s early losses when it sunk to its lowest level for a month.
The blue chip index still has a way to go to reach this morning’s open though, standing 6,895.9 as it headed towards midday.
Meanwhile, the pound was benefitting from the markets' nervousness around the upcoming Presidential elections.
It was heading towards the US$1.23 mark shortly before lunch, a gain of more than half a cent.
UK retailer Next Plc (LON:NXT) was doing its best to drag it higher. Its shares were up more than 4% despite reporting weaker sales in the third quarter.
JD Wetherspoon PLC (LON:JDW) shares moved the other way as it said debt was higher than what it considered “sensible”, while chairman and well-known Brexiter Tim Martin threatened to pull European products from its pubs as his spat with the EU rumbles on.
Prairie Mining Ltd (LON:PDZ) was the pick of AIM after it secured a “landmark” deal with China’s second largest coal miner, China Coal, to help finance and build Prairie’s Jan Karski mine in Poland.
Footsie hits lowest point in a month... 9.20am
The prospect of the unthinkable happening – Donald Trump becoming US president – has upset London investors, but it is not yet a full-scale panic.
The FTSE 100 was down just 31 points at 6,886, which is admittedly its lowest level in a month.
The latest ABC News/Washington Post opinion poll gives a one-point lead to Trump, and given that it is widely assumed a large proportion of the professed “don’t know” respondents are in fact “don’t want to admit I am voting for Trump” respondents, Trump’s lead may be even larger.
Miners bore the brunt of the fear factor in London, with Glencore, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto all down 1.4% or more.
The third quarter trading update from house builder Persimmon PLC (LON:PSN) sparked a 1.4% mark-up in the share price. The company said its margins are improving and the number of people visiting its sites is growing faster than it was at the halfway point of the year.
Among the tiddlers, Sound Energy PLC (LON:SOU) caught the eye with an update from its Tendrara licence area in Morocco. The shares climbed 6.8% as the company said the flow rate from the second well on the licence area was “significantly better than estimates”.
8.30am...
The Donald spooked the FTSE 100 as the man whose hair defies physics (and possibly the ageing process) stormed into a poll lead ahead of next week’s presidential election.
Trump’s resurgence pushed the index of blue-chip shares 39 points lower to 6,878.42.
“While Clinton is still ahead in the majority of surveys, the fact that the orange-faced Republican nominee has clawed his way back to being a potential victor in the aftermath of the FBI email scandal has sent a wave of fear through first the Asian markets, and now the European open,” said Connor Campbell, analyst at Spreadex.
The market liked retailer Next’s (LON:NXT) latest trading update as the shares advanced 2% in opening deals.
The leader board listed a number of recidivist profit warners including Pearson (LON:PSON) and easJet (LON:EZJ) peppered with a couple of precious metal miners.
The top three slots among the losers were occupied by banks, led by Standard Chartered (LON:STAN), after what would, in times past, have been described as ‘a little local difficulty’. It is being investigated by Hong Kong regulators over its role in a number of local IPOs.
6.30am....FTSE 100 set to open lower
London’s blue chips are set for a weak start as markets fell heavily overnight in both the US and Asia.
One poll showing a lead for presidential candidate Donald Trump spooked US markets with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 105 to 18,037. There were similar percentage falls for both Nasdaq and the S&P 500.
The post - Halloween surprise spilled over into Asia with Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai all also registering heavy declines. The Nikkei in Tokyo was almost 2% lower heading for the close.
Financial spread bet firms see FTSE 100 shedding up to 50 points when trading gets underway to follow the 37 point decline to 6,917 seen yesterday.
Headlines
Dividends at BP and Shell are set to come under threat as fears grow that a deal to prop up oil prices is about to collapse reports the Mail.
EDF has been forced to pledge it will not ask the Government for financial help if building Hinkley Point runs into problems, after senior Lords raised a series of concerns about the £18bn nuclear project, reports the Telegraph.
South West Water faces a £1.7 million fine by the industry regulator for missed targets, including a series of incidents that led to sewage being spilt into the sea.
Ofwat is consulting on the penalty after finding that the company missed targets for serious waste water pollution in the year to April 2016, writes the Times.
Commodities/currencies
Oil: West Texas down US$0.4 to US$46.27
Gold: down US$6 to US$1,294
$/£: 1.2246