FTSE 100 down as Asia-focused financials struggle

The FTSE 100 fell sharply on Tuesday weighed -focused financials, plus fresh US tech falls. The FTSE 100 closed down 145.87 points, 1.4%, at 10,227.33. The FTSE 250 ended down 175.47 points, 0.8%, at 22,837.96, while the Aim All-Share fell 12.78 points, 1.6%, to 780.81. Oil prices fell after US President Donald Trump said negotiations over a peace deal to end the Middle East war were in their final stages and a deal could come in “two or three days”. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell noted: “The wind keeps changing direction on the Iran war, meaning investor sentiment is running hot and cold depending on the rhetoric.” “The Brent crude oil price has become a proxy for whether markets think the Middle East conflict will soon be resolved or not, and today’s.. drop… would suggest renewed optimism.” Brent crude for August delivery traded lower at 90.90 dollars a barrel on Tuesday, down from 94.75 dollars at the time of the equities close in London on Monday. Reflecting the lower oil price, shares in BP and Shell were 3.0% and 1.9% lower. In addition, BP announced plans to focus on two distinct business segments, “upstream and downstream”, replacing the current three-tier structure. BP chief executive officer Meg O’Neill, who joined the firm in April, said: “Focusing BP around two distinct segments is an important step in accelerating delivery. “It will reduce complexity and strengthen execution.” Also weighing on London’s blue-chip index, falls in Asia-focused financials with Standard Chartered, HSBC and Prudential down 6.3%, 4.4% and 4.2% respectively. The renewed weakness came amid fresh worries about the impact of China’s new regulations on outbound direct investment. JPMorgan said the changes could lead to a disruption of existing wealth and personal banking business. The mood was a touch brighter in European equity markets on Tuesday. The Cac 40 in Paris ended up 0.1%, although the Dax 40 in Frankfurt closed 0.7% lower. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.6%, the S&P 500 was 1.1% lower and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.9%. ChatGPT-maker OpenAI on Monday took the first step towards going public, one week after arch-rival Anthropic announced its own filing, as both companies look to raise the massive sums needed to expand. In a social media post, the Sam Altman-led company said it had confidentially submitted an S-1 registration statement to US securities regulators but had “not decided on timing yet” for any potential debut. OpenAI’s move follows a confidential filing by Anthropic, the maker of the Claude chatbot, which announced last Monday that it had taken the same step.