European markets dipped after the bell, stalling despite another strong session for US indices overnight (including a record high for the Nasdaq).
With pronounced losses losses in its banking sector, the FTSE 100 slipped 0.8%, forcing the UK index back below 6430.
The FTSE 250 suffered a sharper decline, sinking more than 300 points to 17850, with WH Smith (LON:SMWH) providing a lot of that drag as it dropped close to 5%.
There was also a 3% slide for Bellway (LON:BWY) following the property developer’s latest update. The company revealed that it had sold close to 1000 fewer homes between August 1st 2019 and May 31st 2020 when compared to the same period the year prior.
This as reservations for new homes dropped to just 71 per week from March 23rd to May 31st; this compares to 231 per week between March 25th and June 2nd 2019. To cap it off, CEO Jason Honeyman said the firm expects activity to be ‘severely constrained’ until lockdown measures are further eased.
These UK losses were echoed by the Eurozone. After some terrible German trade data – the country’s surplus plunged from €12.8 billion to €3.2 billion month-on-month, well below the €11.9billion forecast – the DAX was down 1.1%, slipping under 12700. The CAC, meanwhile, shed 50 points to sink below 5150.
The Dow Jones is expected to follow suit this afternoon. Having hit a 15-week peak of 27,530 on Monday, the index is set to drop 0.7%, sending it back under 27400.
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