London close: FTSE slides as European civil unrest dents sentiment

(Sharecast News) - London stocks fell sharply on Monday as civil unrest in France and Italy dented sentiment, and as investors eyed a raft of key US earnings later in the week.

The FTSE 100 closed down 1.1% at 10,764.69, while Brent crude was off 1.3% at $109.49 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was 0.4% higher at $101.79, having fallen after US President Donald Trump waived sanctions and tariffs on Russia.

Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said: "There was no way markets were simply going to shrug off the destruction witnessed on the streets of France over the weekend, especially at a time of such political uncertainty.

"Even if the weekend's events aren't repeated, the damage caused will impact a French economy already hamstrung by the high cost of borrowing - which shot up even further today.

"European markets came under pressure, with shares in French companies leading the losses. Sentiment more broadly was already subdued, ahead of what is expected to be a challenging week as every earnings update is carefully scrutinised.

"In the UK, the countdown is on to what many had hoped would be a 'steady as she goes' kind of Budget. But rising borrowing costs, price pressures and concerns about the level of youth unemployment will pile pressure on the chancellor to do more to support households and businesses whilst grappling with rising yields.

"Earnings updates from SpaceX, Netflix and Meta are among those to be delivered this week, and the mood could sour very quickly."

In equity markets, miners Anglo American and Glencore lost ground as copper prices eased.

Barclays fell following a report the Bank of England is examining whether traders at the bank misrepresented illiquid private credit loans to understate their risk after concerns were raised by an insider. According to the Financial Times, citing people familiar with the matter, the BoE's Prudential Regulation Authority received a complaint earlier this year about how the bank was recording derivatives used to finance private credit loans. It alleged that the way the bank handled the deals was in breach of the PRA's rules.

Imperial Brands fell after a downgrade to 'hold' from 'buy' at Jefferies, which slashed the price target to 2,700p from 3,500p.

B&M European Value Retail fell after JPMorgan placed the shares on 'negative catalyst watch'. It was also in focus after Sky News reported that the disocunt retailer is looking to cherry-pick sites from troubled rival Poundland as it teeters on the brink of administration.

Volex tumbled despite lifting its full-year profit outlook.

On the upside, Pets at Home rallied after an upgrade to 'buy' from 'hold' at Peel Hunt, which lifted the price target to 260p from 180p.

Ocado got a boost after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to 'equalweight' from 'underweight' and upped the price target to 300p from 170p, saying much of the negative news flow is now in the rear-view mirror.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,764.69 -1.08%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,378.49 -0.63%

techMARK (TASX) 6,212.44 -1.05%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 419.70p 2.52%

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 358.80p 1.82%

Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 4,506.00p 1.81%

The Sage Group (SGE) 1,139.50p 1.56%

Compass Group 11 (CPG) 32.97p 1.26%

Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,562.00p 1.10%

Relx plc (REL) 2,937.00p 1.00%

Melrose Industries (MRO) 489.50p 0.93%

Land Securities Group (LAND) 656.00p 0.85%

Tesco (TSCO) 539.00p 0.75%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Anglo American (AAL) 3,883.00p -4.05%

Barclays (BARC) 417.50p -3.50%

Glencore (GLEN) 563.80p -3.31%

3i Group (III) 2,392.00p -3.08%

NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 648.00p -2.70%

SSE (SSE) 2,505.00p -2.68%

WPP (WPP) 402.90p -2.37%

National Grid (NG.) 1,189.50p -2.30%

Standard Chartered (STAN) 2,079.00p -2.26%

IG Group Holdings (IGG) 965.50p -2.18%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 317.20p 8.93%

Pets at Home Group (PETS) 236.80p 6.76%

THG (THG) 37.02p 6.01%

Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 209.20p 4.60%

Young & Co's Brewery 'A' Shares (YNGA) 1,146.00p 3.99%

Keller Group (KLR) 3,140.00p 2.55%

Greggs (GRG) 2,346.00p 2.45%

Halfords Group (HFD) 280.00p 2.00%

Trustpilot Group (TRST) 276.20p 1.92%

Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 1,048.00p 1.55%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Volex (VLX) 563.00p -11.62%

XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 1,768.00p -7.05%

Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 295.00p -4.41%

RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,775.00p -4.31%

AEP Plantations (AEP) 172.60p -4.22%

Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 2.31p -3.50%

Workspace Group (WKP) 339.60p -3.41%

Vistry Group (VTY) 229.80p -3.36%

Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 275.00p -3.34%

Globaldata (DATA) 65.00p -2.99%