LONDON, March 7 — London’s FTSE 100 stock index hit a more than seven month-low today, with soaring oil prices sparking inflationary concerns across the globe as Western allies mulled a Russian oil import ban.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 fell 2.4 per cent to its lowest since July 2021, with financial and consumer staple stocks leading losses.
Oil prices soared to US$130 (RM543) a barrel after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday that the US and European allies are exploring banning Russian oil imports and delays in Iranian talks.
Fighting stopped about 200,000 people from evacuating the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol for a second day in a row yesterday, as Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to press ahead with his invasion unless Kyiv surrendered.
However, energy and mining stocks jumping 4.0 per cent and 9.3 per cent, respectively, capped losses in the commodity-heavy benchmark index.
“There is a growing fear that the escalated conflict between the two nations would have a fallout on the global economy already struggling to come out of the ravage of the pandemic,” said Kunal Sawhney, chief executive officer at research firm Kalkine.
“Investor sentiment has been hit hard. All the hopes of a strong recovery this year have started waning slowly and inflation worries have taken the centrestage.”
The FTSE 100 is down 5.4 per cent on the year, but still outperforms the wider European aggregate on rising oil and metal prices.
The domestically focused mid-cap index fell 4.2 per cent, hitting its lowest level since November 2020.
Amigo Holdings Plc jumped 54.6 per cent after the British financial regulator said the sub-prime lender could restart lending if it meets certain conditions and its new business rescue plan is approved by the London High Court.
Spectris Plc SXS.L fell 1.2 after the electrical engineering company terminated talks regarding a possible £1.79 billion (RM11.2 billion) buyout bid for Oxford Instruments OXIG.L. — Reuters
