London midday: FTSE extends losses; miners slump

19th Oct 2026 11:03

(Sharecast News) - London stocks had extended losses by midday on Monday as the selloff in US tech shares last week continued to dent sentiment, and as investors eyed a raft of key US earnings later in the week.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.9% at 10,784.42, while Brent crude was off 1.6% at $108.14 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was 0.7% lower at $100.66 after US President Donald Trump waived sanctions and tariffs ‌on Russia, potentially allowing higher fuel exports.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "European markets faced a tricky start on Monday as the political unrest in France shows little sign of letting up and as AI and geopolitical concerns continue to weigh.

"The sell-off in US tech seen late Friday on concerns about the big debt being built up as companies spend heavily on AI has cast a shadow over the start of the week for financial markets.

"France apart, government bond yields are stable, and oil prices have pulled back from recent highs, but both remain elevated to reflect the ongoing uncertainty around Ukraine and the Middle East.

"A report from EY showing UK profit warnings at their highest level in two years shows the challenges posed to businesses by the uncertain consumer backdrop and mounting inflation and borrowing costs.

"It raises the stakes further ahead of next week's Budget with domestic-facing companies likely to be nervous about any new regulatory or tax changes which might dial up the pressure on them even further."

Looking to the rest of the week, attention will turn to a slew of key US earnings, with Meta, Tesla and Netlix all slated to report.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "The tech sector is expected to report 65% earnings growth this quarter and for Meta this would translate to $62.5 billion of earnings simply to hit the middle point of its own guidance range. In addition, any upgrade to its forecast capex spend of between $130 billion and $145 billion could well put further pressure on the stock - and indeed the sector - as investors become increasingly unnerved by spiralling spends.

"Apart from Meta, investors will be kept busy this week with updates from fellow Magnificent Seven members Tesla and Netflix, while elsewhere companies such as Ford, General Motors, American Express, IBM and AT&T will report amid another important week where expectations are high."

In equity markets, Barclays fell following a report the Bank of England is examining whether traders at the bank misrepresented illiquid private credit loans to understate their risk after concerns were raised by an insider.

According to the Financial Times, citing people familiar with the matter, the BoE's Prudential Regulation Authority received a complaint earlier this year about how the bank was recording derivatives used to finance private credit loans. It alleged that the way the bank handled the deals was in breach of the PRA's rules.

Miners Anglo American and Glencore lost ground as copper prices eased, while Imperial Brands slid after a downgrade to 'hold' from 'buy' at Jefferies, which slashed the price target to 2,700p from 3,500p. Jefferies said that while IMB has proven proficient at growing value in the combustibles segment, the upcoming sharp, multi-year series of excise taxes in Germany may materially slow growth down.

B&M European Value Retail fell after JPMorgan placed the shares on 'negative catalyst watch'.

On the upside, software-related stocks were on the rise again, with The Sage Group, LSEG and Relx among the top performers on the FTSE 100.

Pets at Home rallied after an upgrade to 'buy' from 'hold' at Peel Hunt, which lifted the price target to 260p from 180p, while Ocado got a boost after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to 'equalweight' from 'underweight' and upped the price target to 300p from 170p. It said much of the negative news flow is now in the rear-view mirror.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,784.42 -0.90%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,464.69 -0.28%

techMARK (TASX) 6,248.23 -0.48%

FTSE 100 - Risers

The Sage Group (SGE) 1,132.00p 1.07%

Land Securities Group (LAND) 656.50p 1.00%

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,848.00p 0.91%

Relx plc (REL) 2,937.00p 0.86%

BP (BP.) 618.70p 0.75%

Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 412.00p 0.64%

Standard Life (SDLF) 916.50p 0.55%

British Land Company (BLND) 419.20p 0.53%

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 354.10p 0.45%

Tesco (TSCO) 537.20p 0.45%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Anglo American (AAL) 3,893.00p -3.61%

Barclays (BARC) 419.55p -2.92%

3i Group (III) 2,396.00p -2.88%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,320.20p -2.22%

Glencore (GLEN) 570.80p -2.06%

Babcock International Group (BAB) 942.20p -2.04%

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 405.60p -2.03%

WPP (WPP) 404.40p -2.01%

BAE Systems (BA.) 1,943.50p -1.92%

Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,824.00p -1.91%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Pets at Home Group (PETS) 234.80p 5.77%

Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 207.80p 3.90%

Ocado Group (OCDO) 303.20p 3.85%

THG (THG) 36.10p 3.21%

Keller Group (KLR) 3,136.00p 2.35%

Halfords Group (HFD) 280.00p 2.00%

Trustpilot Group (TRST) 276.40p 1.99%

Greggs (GRG) 2,334.00p 1.92%

Genuit Group (GEN) 293.20p 1.88%

Schroder Oriental Income Fund Ltd. (SOI) 440.00p 1.62%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Volex (VLX) 595.00p -6.12%

Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 274.50p -3.69%

Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 2.31p -3.67%

Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 298.60p -3.56%

RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,800.00p -3.28%

B&M European Value Retail (BME) 277.60p -3.07%

ITV (ITV) 64.40p -2.87%

Entain (ENT) 430.70p -2.86%

Mondi (MNDI) 741.80p -1.98%

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 954.00p -1.90%