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The FTSE 100 was sent back down to earth on Tuesday after it outperformed at the start of the week, with fears that the Federal Reserve will keep rates higher for longer hurting investor sentiment.
With a week to go before the US central bank’s next policy meeting, traders are digesting a somewhat bullish reading of the US services sector, while also dealing with the fallout of the Friday’s strong US jobs report.
Among London shares, mining stocks weakened, hitting the FTSE 100.
The FTSE 100 index ended down 46.15 points, or 0.6%, at 7,521.39 on Tuesday in London. The blue-chip index advanced 6.7% last month, but December is proving to be trickier for equities. The FTSE has lost 0.7% so far this month.
The FTSE 250 closed down 229.50 points, or 1.2%, at 19,100.08. The AIM All-Share closed down 10.53 points, or 1.2%, at 840.19.
The Cboe UK 100 lost 0.5% at 753.60, the Cboe UK 250 ended down 1.1% at 16,540.31, and the Cboe Small Companies shed 0.1% at 13,073.73.
In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris fell 0.1%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt lost a heftier 0.7%.
At the time of the European close, stocks in New York were also lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.8%, the S&P 500 was 1.1% lower and the Nasdaq Composite shed 1.4%.
‘The problem with crystal balls is that even if you happen to have one reading it accurately is likely to be more an art than a science. For investors trying to position their portfolios to make the most of next week’s Fed rate hike it might be better to ditch the fortune telling entirely as the economic data that‘