The markets continued to drift lower, stuck in one of those periods where it’s unclear as to what direction trading will turn.
The FTSE suffered the most pronounced losses of the major markets, dropping another 0.7% to edge closer and closer towards 6000. Its banking sector looked a bit ropey – Natwest was the worst hit, falling 2.6%, with Barclays (LON:BARC) falling 2%, Lloyds (LON:LLOY) slipping 1.6% and HSBC (LON:HSBA) dropping 1.2%.
Sentiment was hurt by the retail sales reading for August. Though it was still up 0.8% month-on-month as expected, that’s a sharp decline from July’s 3.7% rise, and the mega-surges of June and May. It might also be the last decent retail sales figure for a while – the sector is heading for a difficult winter, with the potential for a return to longer and larger lockdowns.
Over in the Eurozone things were a tad more mixed. The DAX only dipped 0.1%, holding above 13200, but with the CAC slumping half a percent.
Looking ahead to this afternoon and the Dow Jones is keeping its cards close to its chest, the futures forecasting a 0.1% fall. That’d leave the index at around 27860.
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