With the prospect of a sharp economic slowdown, further pain for households and businesses, and investor sentiment on its knees, alas equities markets continue their descent.
The FTSE 100 dropped 2.1% to 6,836 as shares in both defensive and growth stocks were out of fashion. That’s the UK index’s lowest level since April 2021.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “Legal & General, a favourite among investors for its generous dividends and a popular pension holding, was among the top fallers, down 3.3%.
“Others having a bad day on the market included Ocado, Rolls-Royce and Unite. Even ‘in demand’ stocks deemed to have pricing power regardless of the state of the economy were falling, including Unilever.
“The market will be reassessing the growth prospects for businesses, with share price declines reflecting the growing likelihood for earnings downgrades. Some investors may even have become too scared to hold a lot of equities and might be trimming holdings in favour of increasing cash positions, given the prospect of much greater rates on savings accounts.”
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