FTSE 100 subdued as Deutsche Bank weighs down German markets
The London markets have made a subdued start to the week, with the FTSE 100 moving marginally lower while the finance sector focused on the major reshuffle at Deutsche Bank.
The FTSE 100 closed lower on Monday, down 3.87 points at 7,549.27 points at the end of trading.
It was a steady but largely nervous day’s trading across Europe, with positive US employment data from Friday failing to lift European markets.
David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: “Stocks are largely lower this afternoon as dealers are mindful of the poor finish to last week.
“Deutsche Bank shares are in the red this afternoon even though they got off to a good start this morning on the back of the restructuring news.”
The bank announced its first redundancies on Monday as part of plans to cut 18,000 jobs globally.
The German Dax decreased by 0.2%, while the French Cac fell back by 0.08%.
Sterling stayed near to its lowest figure for 2019 as it edged further downward against the dollar and held flat against the euro.
The pound was down 0.14% at 1.251 versus the US dollar and was flat at 1.115 against the euro.
In stocks, British Airways owner IAG suffered a slump in share price after the UK airline was slapped with a record fine of more than £183 million over a customer data breach.
The airline’s boss Alex Cruz said he was “surprised and disappointed” by the penalty from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Shares in IAG were down 6.2p at 450.3p at the close of trading on Monday.
Shares in Ocado sank as investors looked pessimistically towards its interim results announcement on Tuesday morning.
The grocery delivery firm has seen its value surge in the past two years, but the decline in value highlights nervousness regarding the UK retail sector.
Shares in the company closed 54.5p down at 1,170.5p.
Tobacco giant Imperial Brands saw shares rise after it announced a shake-up to its dividend policy and a £200 million share buyback.
The firm, which owns the likes of Davidoff and Rizla, will abandon its annual 10% increase from next year and instead adopt a progressive policy that takes into account the underlying performance of the business.
Shares in the company closed up 43.2p at 2,004p.
Elsewhere, Photo-Me International saw its shares slip after the photo booth operator said it will delay the release of its results for the 2019 financial year.
Shares for the company slid by 6.5p to 90p on Monday.
The price of oil crept higher as traders viewed the respectable US jobs report as a sign the US economy is in good shape and that oil demand will remain high.
The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil rose by 0.03% to 64.5 US dollars.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Imperial Brands, up 43.2p at 2,004p, BHP, up 36.8p at 1,992.4p, Rio Tinto, up 78.5p at 4,802p and Fresnillo, up 14.4p at 894.8p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Ocado, down 54.5p at 1,170.5p, JD Sports, down 18.2p at 603.4p, Schroders, down 82p at 3,020p, and CRH, down 48p at 2,636p.
