London close: FTSE 100 finishes in the red as voting gets underway Stateside

3rd Nov 2026 16:18

(Sharecast News) - London stocks closed firmly in the red on Tuesday, amid mixed trading on Wall Street as closely-watched midterm elections got underway in the US.

The FTSE 100 closed down 1.14% at 10,638.43, while Brent crude fell nearly 2% to $103.17 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was 1% lower at $95.82. On Wall Street, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was 0.77% higher, whereas the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.45%.

Americans began casting their votes to determine control of Congress earlier this afternoon, in a contest that is being closely watched worldwide - Donald Trump's Republican party is expected to sustain heavy losses. Polls are due to close from 18:00 Eastern Time, with the first tentative results due early on Wednesday.

Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said US polls continue to suggest that it will be a clean sweep for the Democrats, and they will win control of both houses.

"Essentially this means gridlock for US politics for the next two years," she added. "This is good news for stocks, which tend to rally in the year after an election, but it also means that any attempt by Democrats to bring the war to an end and reduce pressure on the oil price could be vetoed by the president."

Patrick Munnelly, partner at Tickmill Group, said global markets were adopting a "defensive posture" ahead of the results. He continued: "A sharp decline in crude oil prices - triggered by remarks from Donald Trump regarding potential adjustments to overseas financial support - put heavy pressure on index energy heavyweights, offsetting targeted gains across construction and financial names."

Miners, including Endeavour Mining, Antofagasta, Glencore and Anglo American, were also lower on weaker copper prices.

Associated British Foods fell as it posted a sharp decline in annual profits. The Primark owner said challenging conditions hit both its grocery and retail businesses, and warned of further falls to come, with group adjusted operating profits and adjusted earnings per share in the current year to come in below 2026.

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners was also weaker despite backing its full-year guidance and posting a 6.5% increase in third-quarter revenue.

On the upside, Hiscox rallied as the specialist insurer said group insurance contract written premiums rose 9.5% in the first nine months of the year, driven by accelerating momentum in the retail segment.

British Gas owner-Centrica rose after Jefferies upgraded the stock to 'buy' from 'hold' and lifted the price target to 200p from 190p. It said the market is overlooking the visibility and growth embedded in the business.

Drax surged after saying it had signed an agreement to develop a strategic partnership with Brookfield and Radiant, Brookfield's UK-headquartered AI infrastructure platform, to jointly develop, deliver and operate an AI data centre on its power station estate in the north of England.

IWG also gained as the workspace provider hailed a strong third quarter, with revenue up 12% year-on-year.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,638.43 -1.14%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,674.91 -0.49%

techMARK (TASX) 6,294.26 -0.13%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,939.00p 2.97%

Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,047.50p 1.55%

3i Group (III) 2,562.00p 1.34%

WPP (WPP) 413.20p 1.27%

Prudential (PRU) 944.20p 1.18%

Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,117.50p 1.13%

Computacenter (CCC) 5,045.00p 1.10%

Haleon (HLN) 325.60p 0.74%

Lion Finance Group (BGEO) 12,110.00p 0.50%

ICG (ICG) 1,912.00p 0.42%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 319.00p -4.66%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,138.00p -3.54%

Compass Group 11 (CPG) 33.50p -2.87%

Glencore (GLEN) 504.30p -2.83%

Anglo American (AAL) 3,717.00p -2.80%

Diageo (DGE) 1,763.00p -2.35%

Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,900.00p -2.21%

Fresnillo (FRES) 2,286.00p -2.18%

BT Group (BT.A) 222.90p -2.11%

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 8,390.00p -2.10%

FTSE 250 - Risers

International Workplace Group (IWG) 214.20p 8.57%

Drax Group (DRX) 862.50p 6.61%

Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 273.00p 4.28%

Rank Group (RNK) 90.60p 4.02%

Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 2.38p 3.39%

Auction Technology Group (ATG) 500.00p 2.46%

Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 545.00p 2.44%

TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 4,638.00p 2.25%

Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 177.60p 1.49%

Seraphim Space Investment Trust (SSIT) 184.20p 1.32%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

THG (THG) 39.64p -5.53%

Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 1,025.00p -4.92%

Endeavour Mining (EDV) 3,557.00p -4.74%

Young & Co's Brewery 'A' Shares (YNGA) 1,152.00p -4.16%

Ocado Group (OCDO) 322.20p -3.94%

Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 318.00p -3.78%

B&M European Value Retail (BME) 273.20p -3.74%

Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 407.40p -3.73%

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 431.00p -3.41%

SDCL Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 31.05p -2.97%