London markets slide into red again as dismal trading week continues

The FTSE 100 tumbled further into the red on another ugly day for the global markets.

London’s top flight closed 44.9 points lower at 7,077.64 at the end of trading on Thursday.

The FTSE had been as much as 120 points down on Thursday afternoon, but made back a substantial part of its losses as trading sentiment steadily improved across Europe.

Nevertheless, the slump added to a disappointing week which has seen London-listed stocks particularly impacted by fears of a global economic slowdown.

David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK said: “The FTSE 100 is underperforming its continental counterparts as major declines in commodity stocks are weighing on the index.

“The London market has a relatively large exposure to energy as well as mining stocks, so the concerns about a global slowdown are hitting the FTSE 100 extra hard.

“Consumer stocks are under pressure too as the latest UK services data showed a contraction in September, and that suggests that consumers are curtailing their spending ahead of Brexit.”

The European markets were slightly more mixed, although the key German index dived lower under heavy selling pressure.

The German Dax decreased by 2.76% while the French Cac moved 0.3% higher.

The Dow Jones opened lower on the back of global economic concerns but moved into the black later in the day.

Sterling benefited from weakness in both the euro and dollar despite concerns over Boris Johnson’s efforts to secure a Brexit deal.

The pound was 0.72% up versus the US dollar at 1.238, and up 0.43% against the euro at 1.126.

In company news, Ray Kelvin has seen more millions wiped off the value of his stake in Ted Baker after the retailer’s shares plummeted as it slid to a loss.

The company slumped to the loss as bosses said heavy discounting across the high street, consumer uncertainty and a poorly received spring/summer collection all contributed to the fall.

Shares in the company slid by 370.5p to 555p on Thursday.

Imperial Brands edged upwards after chief executive Alison Cooper announced plans to stand down after nine years in the role and two decades with the tobacco giant.

Ms Cooper will leave once a successor has been appointed, the group said.

Shares in the tobacco giant lifted by 10p to 1,840p at the close of play.

Elsewhere, shares in Stagecoach closed higher after it confirmed it will take the Department for Transport to court early next year over the Government’s decision to ban the firm from bidding for three rail contracts.

Bosses were blocked from bidding for the East Midlands, West Coast and South Eastern franchises over pension deficit concerns.

Shares in the bus and train operator closed up 1.3p at 133p.

Oil has suffered losses again as the continued chatter about a global economic slowdown hurt the energy market.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil slumped by 20.33% to 57.32 US dollars.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were London Stock Exchange, up 160p at 7,168p, Ferguson, up 126p at 6,278p, Diageo, up 60.5p at 3,279p, and Associated British Foods, up 35p at 2,195p.

The biggest fallers on the index were DS Smith, down 19.7p at 325.2p, Evraz, down 16.6p at 422.1p, British American Tobacco, down 108p at 2,789p, and Kingfisher, down 6.9p at 189.05p.