Market report: FTSE 100’s worst month since Covid ends on a low
The worst month for London shares since the pandemic sent the FTSE 100 index into freefall in March ended today with no respite for beleaguered traders.
Better-than-expected Q3 figures from US tech giants Apple and Amazon were of little benefit for sentiment as the focus is firmly on this winter’s deteriorating consumer outlook amid the global surge in Covid-19 cases.
The FTSE 100 index has fallen by around 5% in October, with most of the losses coming this week as countries including France introduce new lockdown measures.
The top flight fell another 18.17 points to 5563.58 today, with the prospect of weaker demand sending mining shares including BHP, down 32.2p to 1458.40p, and Polymetal International, off 21.5p at 1643p, into negative territory.
A rebound for Brent crude after a week of heavy falls at least helped Royal Dutch Shell and BP to recover by 17.3p to 950p and 2p to 195.46p respectively.
Investors also bought heavily-sold International Airlines Group after the release of its third quarter results. Shares were 1.7p higher at 92.8p despite the BA owner repeating its warning it will take until at least 2023 for passenger demand to recover to 2019 levels.
AstraZeneca, still the biggest stock in the FTSE 100 index at more than £100 billion, was 45p lower at 7,831p after raising $400 million from selling commercial rights to its Atacand medicine for heart failure and hypertension.
The FTSE 250 index was down 36.05p at 17,141.63, with IT services company Computacenter off 14p to 2,284p after hitting a record high earlier this month. The profit-taking came as the firm’s latest update said it had started the current quarter with good short-term visibility and a strong backlog of orders.
Promotional products firm 4imprint fell 55p to 2,070p as the pandemic continues to depress demand from companies for branded clothing, drinkware and stationery.
The company said encouraging progress had been made in recent weeks but that order intake was still at just above 60% of prior year levels.
Small-cap spotlight
The AIM-listed company behind London’s Workshop Coffee bars has been named UK distributor for Seattle-based drinkware brand MiiR. The Barkby Group said that the move strengthened Workshop’s e-commerce position, particularly at a time when more people are drinking coffee at home. Every MiiR product sold helps to fund trackable giving projects around the world. Shares in the Barkby Group, whose diverse operations span gastropubs, a car dealership and products that help improve sleep quality, rose 0.8p to 19.05p.
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