The FTSE 350 fell for the fifth day in row Tuesday, as the Bank of England stepped in again to try to settle the financial turmoil. The International Monetary Fund also warned that the UK faces high inflation for longer than most countries, made worse by Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s tax cuts.
FTSE falling
The FTSE 100 kept sliding further below the 7,000 level, ending Tuesday at 6,885 points. That was a 74 point (1.1%) fall on the day. And London’s top index is now down 201 points, or 2.8%, since its last positive day on 4 October.
Ocado continued its slide after UK retail figures were released, dropping 5.3% on Tuesday. Ocado shares are now down 74% over the past 12 months.
Insurers were among the biggest fallers too, with Legal & General losing 5.2% and Aviva dropping 4.2%.
The FTSE 350 fell by a similar 1.1% margin, dropping 42 points on Tuesday to end at 3,785 points. In this case, we’re looking at a 3.2% fall since 4 October.
US decline
US stock markets have also suffered five straight says of losses. The S&P 500 fell 0.7% Tuesday to 3,589 points, down 5.3% since 4 October.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 1.1% on the day, to 10,426 points. And it’s dropped 6.7% over the same five trading days.
Company updates
We’ll have a trading update from Barratt Developments, in the FTSE 100, on Wednesday. Updates should be coming from QinetiQ and Darktrace too.
Investors’ eyes will also be directed to Thursday, when FTSE 100 betting firm Entain is due to release a trading update. And there’ll be a number of FTSE 100 companies going ex-dividend the same day.
Economic indicators
Several UK economic indicators are due on Wednesday, and will almost certainly help set the market direction.
Gross Domestic Product figures will probably dominate, and we also have Industrial and Manufacturing Production updates coming too. Balance of Trade figures are also scheduled. And who knows, maybe the weak pound might help our exports.
Oil dipping
The recent oil price hike has continued to soften. After OPEC+ decided to lower production, Brent Crude rose above $98 per barrel, though still well below June’s peak levels.
But in the past couple of days, it’s dropped back to a little over $94 per barrel. It seems traders expect reductions in demand due to economic contraction to outweigh any shortage of supply.