FTSE 100 sees slight fall as energy giants face downturn

London’s FTSE 100 fell slightly this morning as the energy sector and domestically focused companies both faced losses.

The capital’s premier index fell by 0.02 per cent, owing to losses in energy stocks, notably BP and Royal Dutch Shell. Just Eat and JD Sports also saw losses as Covid-19 cases soar across the country.

The cybersecurity firm Avast was able to offset some of the index’s losses as it was boosted by the announcement that it was in talks with NortonLifeLock over a merger. The company jumped 14.16 per cent to the top of the FTSE 100 index.

The mid-capitalisation FTSE 250 fell by 0.48 per cent as the domestically focused stocks were hit by the surge in Covid-19 cases and fears of rising inflation.

Cineworld Group saw its stock fall 3.90 per cent as UK daily cases hit 40,000.

The UK’s unemployment rate is currently 4.8 per cent, the ONS announced. Nearly 1 per cent higher than before the pandemic began.

The pound was down against the dollar, losing 0.18 per cent to buy at $1.383.

The best performer was Avast, driven by its merger announcement.

Experian also jumped an impressive 5.14 per cent as it posted a 31 per cent jump in its first-quarter revenue.

Energy stocks were the worst performing sector as they dropped 2.24 per cent.

The weaker performance amongst the FTSE companies did not extend to the US, where the S&P 500 made a 0.12 per cent gain to rise to 4,374. Nasdaq saw losses of 0.22 per cent.

In Europe, the DAX fell 0.69 per cent to 15,680 while the CAC 40 fell by 0.43 per cent as ripples were felt right across the continent.

In Asia, performances were mixed. Tokyo’s NIKKEI 225 fell by 1.15 per cent. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s HANG SENG INDEX saw an upturn of 0.75 per cent to leave it at 27,996. The SZSE rose 0.75 per cent despite China’s slowing economic growth.