Investment accounts
Adult accounts
Child accounts
Choosing Fidelity
Choosing Fidelity
Why invest with us Current offers Fees and charges Open an account Transfer investments
Financial advice & support
Fidelity’s Services
Fidelity’s Services
Financial advice Retirement Wealth Management Investor Centre (London) Bereavement
Guidance and tools
Guidance and tools
Choosing investments Choosing accounts ISA calculator Retirement calculators
Share dealing
Choose your shares
Tools and information
Tools and information
Share prices and markets Chart and compare shares Stock market news Shareholder perks
Pensions & retirement
Pensions, tax & tools
Saving for retirement
Approaching / In retirement
Approaching / In retirement
Speak to a specialist Creating a retirement plan Taking tax-free cash Pension drawdown Annuities Investing in retirement Investment Pathways
London close: Stocks flat as recession fears continue to weigh
(Sharecast News) - London stocks ended a choppy session flat on Friday, as recessionary fears continued to weigh on sentiment. The FTSE 100 closed flat at 7,168.65, while sterling was down 1.1% against the dollar at 1.2050.
Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Fears rattling financial markets show little sign of subsiding, with investors spooked about signs of looming recessions, while inflation stays stubbornly high.
"There are concerns that, just like in the seventies era, demand and inflation won't fall back easily, and that the Federal Reserve and other central banks will have to step on the accelerator of interest rate hikes to bring red hot prices under control. The risk is that could see economies slam into a brick wall of recession, with ripple effects around the world."
Meanwhile, IG market analyst Chris Beauchamp said: "The losses of the first half do not seem to have created any immediate desire to buy the dip it seems. An initial recovery for US markets from the lows of the morning has given way to more losses, and even the prospect of a long weekend in the US hasn't tempted the dip buyers in.
"There is a growing unease about the summer, especially with a potentially very gloomy Q2 earnings season nearly upon us. It really does look like we have another big leg lower before this bear market is done."
On home shores , a survey showed growth in the manufacturing sector slowed to a two-year low in June. The S&P Global/CIPS manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to 52.8 from 54.6 in May, coming in below consensus expectations and the flash estimate of 53.4 A reading above 50.0 indicates expansion, while a reading below signals contraction.
New orders contracted for the first time in 17 months and business optimism hit its lowest since May 2020, as the number of firms expecting production to rise over the coming year fell to 47% in June from 55% a month earlier.
The new orders index declined from 51.1 in May to 48.3 in June - its lowest level for two years.
Companies said a weaker economic outlook, reduced new export order intakes, slower growth of domestic demand, the war in Ukraine, raw material shortages and the slowdown in China all contributed to the reduction in new work received.
There wasn't a whole lot going on in equity markets. Miners were among the worst performers, with Glencore, Anglo American, Antofagasta and Rio Tinto all lower.
Abrdn and Jupiter Fund Management were both knocked lower by a rating downgrade at Citi. The bank cut its stance on both asset managers to 'sell'. "We see downside risks for almost all names, but see the biggest risk of disappointment at Abrdn and Jupiter," Citi said in a note on the sector.
Elsewhere, Chemring rose as it said the UK's Serious Fraud Office had closed its investigation into the activities of the Technology Solutions subsidiary and associated persons.
Oxford Biomedica gained as it signed a new three-year deal which would facilitate potential future manufacturing opportunities for the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,168.65 -0.01% FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,636.98 -0.16% techMARK (TASX) 4,295.19 0.45%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Ocado Group (OCDO) 814.00p 4.20% SSE (SSE) 1,677.50p 3.81% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 85.78p 3.41% Melrose Industries (MRO) 154.20p 3.01% Compass Group (CPG) 1,728.00p 2.86% Ashtead Group (AHT) 3,537.00p 2.85% Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,868.50p 2.55% Unilever (ULVR) 3,800.00p 2.12% Next (NXT) 5,984.00p 2.12% National Grid (NG.) 1,073.00p 2.00%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Harbour Energy (HBR) 332.60p -8.58% Glencore (GLEN) 426.35p -4.21% Anglo American (AAL) 2,821.50p -3.93% Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,639.00p -3.70% Abrdn (ABDN) 154.50p -3.35% Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,121.50p -2.90% Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 539.60p -2.77% SEGRO (SGRO) 956.00p -2.13% Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,834.50p -1.67% Land Securities Group (LAND) 653.20p -1.63%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Discoverie Group (DSCV) 660.00p 6.45% Carnival (CCL) 656.80p 6.00% Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,858.50p 5.96% Helios Towers (HTWS) 128.00p 5.87% ASOS (ASC) 883.50p 5.37% TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 137.15p 3.55% Babcock International Group (BAB) 318.00p 2.98% 888 Holdings (888) 172.40p 2.86% easyJet (EZJ) 376.90p 2.81% Renishaw (RSW) 3,660.00p 2.58%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Chrysalis Investments Limited NPV (CHRY) 96.20p -7.68% Tullow Oil (TLW) 43.80p -6.53% Energean (ENOG) 1,048.00p -4.64% Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 1,596.00p -4.60% HGCapital Trust (HGT) 316.50p -4.24% Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 141.90p -4.19% Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 232.00p -3.97% Wood Group (John) (WG.) 150.40p -3.59% Investec (INVP) 429.60p -3.42% Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 126.00p -3.37%
Share this article
Related Sharecast Articles
Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.
Award-winning online share dealing
Search, compare and select from thousands of shares.
Expert insights into investing your money
Our team of experts explore the world of share dealing.
Policies and important information
Accessibility | Conflicts of interest statement | Consumer Duty Target Market | Consumer Duty Value Assessment Statement | Cookie policy | Diversity and Inclusion | Doing Business with Fidelity | Fidelity gender pay report | Investing in Fidelity funds | Legal information | Modern slavery | Mutual respect policy | Privacy statement | Remuneration policy | Security | Statutory and Regulatory disclosures | Whistleblowing policy
Please remember that past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance, the performance of investments is not guaranteed, and the value of your investments can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest. When investments have particular tax features, these will depend on your personal circumstances and tax rules may change in the future. This website does not contain any personal recommendations for a particular course of action, service or product. You should regularly review your investment objectives and choices and, if you are unsure whether an investment is suitable for you, you should contact an authorised financial adviser. Before opening an account, please read the ‘Doing Business with Fidelity’ document which incorporates our client terms. Prior to investing into a fund, please read the relevant key information document which contains important information about the fund.
This website is issued by Financial Administration Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (FCA Register number 122169) and registered in England and Wales under company number 1629709 whose registered address is Beech Gate, Millfield Lane, Lower Kingswood, Tadworth, Surrey, KT20 6RP.