London midday: UK stocks sink on fears over Scottish referendum, Ukraine
Concerns surrounding the upcoming referendum on Scottish independence and a fragile ceasefire agreement in Ukraine were weighing heavily on UK stocks on Monday.
Abrdn
155.20p
16:40 03/05/24
Associated British Foods
2,671.00p
16:40 03/05/24
De La Rue
92.60p
16:35 03/05/24
Dechra Pharmaceuticals
3,866.00p
08:01 16/01/24
GSK
1,733.50p
16:49 03/05/24
HSBC Holdings
705.50p
16:49 03/05/24
Lloyds Banking Group
52.18p
16:49 03/05/24
NATWEST GROUP
305.00p
16:35 03/05/24
SSE
1,709.50p
16:49 03/05/24
Standard Chartered
755.00p
16:49 03/05/24
London's FTSE 100 was trading down 1% at 6,789 by midday. The index has not closed below the 6,800 mark since 22 August when it settled at 6,775.25.
The pound was trading at a 10-month low as the ‘yes’ campaign for Scottish independence gathered steam, with supporters for the break-up taking a narrow lead in a Yougov pool just 10 days before the vote. This was the first lead for the 'yes' lead since the campaign began.
Businesses with large Scottish exposure were also rocked by the increased support for independence, with their shares suffering steep falls in morning trading.
"One could also question how much store we can put in a single poll. For now, the markets are certainly beginning to price in what was deemed unthinkable," said market strategist Brenda Kelly from IG Group.
In other news, Ukraine and Russia accused each other of violating the ceasefire that was agreed on Friday, as shelling and gunfire in east Ukraine resumed on Sunday.
The city of Mariupol, where a woman was killed on Sunday night, remains in Ukrainian hands but reports say the town on the Sea of Azov could soon come under assault from pro-Russian rebels. Blasts were also heard in Donetsk with both parties reciprocally accusing each other of firing first and threatening the truce.
AB Foods and financials in the red
Food, ingredients and retail group Associated British Foods fell despite reiterating its guidance for profit growth in the year to 13 September. AB Foods said that strong profit performances from the Primark and grocery divisions and an improvement in ingredients are expected to offset the adverse effect of lower sugar prices and the £50m impact from the recent strength in sterling.
Banking and financial stocks were under pressure as investors speculated about how an independent Scotland could affect business. Lloyds, RBS and Standard Life were unwanted, along with utility firm SSE.
RBS was also falling heavily after Credit Suisse listed it as one of its "key underperforms" in the European banking sector. HSBC and Standard Chartered were also rated 'underperform'.
Glaxosmithkline was trading lower after Credit Suisse slashed its earnings forecasts for the company and trimmed its target price from 1,475p to 1,400p. The bank kept an 'underperform' rating for the stock, saying that it trades at a 10% premium to others in the sector.
De La Rue gained after being named preferred bidder for a 10-year contract to print bank notes for the Bank of England from April 2015.
Veterinary drugs firm Dechra Pharmaceuticals was also higher after a turnaround in the second half helped full-year revenues to rise 1.6%. The company also said underlying profits jumped 18% as it hiked its dividend by 10%.
Market Movers
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FTSE 100 6,788.67 -0.97%
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FTSE 100 - Fallers
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Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,052.00p -4.97%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 71.59p -3.26%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 336.00p -3.17%
Standard Life (SL.) 403.70p -3.07%
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