The FTSE 100 opened 37.83 points lower at 10,687.2 amid concerns surrounding the artificial intelligence sector, which hit parts of Asia, after tech stocks were sold off in New York. Brent crude futures rose 1.10% to USD 114.4 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) advanced 1.37% to USD 100.8 per barrel.
Sterling traded at USD 1.3390 on early Friday, up from USD 1.3365 as London equities closed on Thursday. However, against the euro, it rose to EUR 1.1938 from EUR 1.1933.
Gainers & Losers
On the upside, BP gained 1.75% to 622.60p, while Ithaca Energy advanced 1.66% to 294.40p. Anglo American climbed 1.66% to 3,685.00p, and Antofagasta increased 1.59% to 3,073.00p. Weir Group rose 1.38% to 2,504.00p, while Shell added 1.21% to 3,935.50p.
On the downside, Rolls-Royce Holdings declined 3.35% to 1,217.40p, while Airtel Africa slipped 1.93% to 274.60p. Fresnillo fell 1.87% to 2,416.00p, and Burberry Group dropped 1.79% to 1,067.50p. Vodafone Group decreased 1.71% to 117.75p, while AstraZeneca lost 1.50% to 12,786.00p.
Tech Sell-Off
Concerns around artificial intelligence spending dragged the US tech sector to a 3% decline on the day. NVIDIA dropped 4.4%, Alphabet fell 3.2%, and Advanced Micro Devices declined 8.1% as losses were recorded across the technology sector.
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC on Thursday he thought capital within the AI buildout was becoming scarce.
“There’s a scarcity of capital. The demand [for] the capital is much greater than the availability of the capital,” Huang said when asked about the neocloud segment of the AI buildout, which is proving to be fragile.
Retail Sales Decline
Retail sales fell at a faster pace than expected in September. Total sales at retailers decreased 0.4% in September, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), a bigger drop than the 0.1% forecast by City economists.
It follows a surge in August, which the ONS revised upwards to 0.7% from 0.5% previously. September’s slowdown was triggered by a slump at non-food stores and online spending, where volumes declined 0.4 per cent.
Boohoo Targets GBP 100 million Profit
Boohoo targets a GBP 100 million profit after emerging from years of consecutive losses. The London-listed fashion firm said its turnaround plans are ‘significantly ahead’ of schedule after producing its first pre-tax profit since 2021.
The online retailer posted a GBP 28 million profit in the six months to the end of August, overturning last year’s GBP 18 million loss, though revenue edged down three per cent to GBP 410 million. Chief executive Dan Finley said, “This is significantly ahead of our original guidance provided at the start of the year. I see material opportunities ahead, and we are fully focused on maximising them.”
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Global Market View
In the US, the NASDAQ Composite fell 2.6% to 26,008.86; the tech-heavy index suffered its worst session since June. The S&P 500 shed 1.21% to close at 7,663.43, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 11.89 points, or 0.02%, to end at 52,867.98.
In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 2.65% to 62,907.84, while China’s Shanghai Composite edged down by 1.48%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.82%, and South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.3%. In India, both the Nifty 50 and the Sensex declined by 1.3% and 0.52%, respectively.