FTSE 100 tumbles 2% as AI jitters spark global selloff
Nov 6 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 was poised to log its steepest fall in over seven months and a weekly decline on Friday as AI jitters following a change in the US political landscape sparked a global selloff.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE fell 2.2% to 10,540.78 points by 1143 GMT, on track for its worst session since mid-March, while the midcap FTSE 250 .FTMC slipped 1.2%.
The Democrats' capture of the US House and Senate earlier this week sparked concerns of AI regulation, a slowdown in data-centre construction and hyperscalers tightening their purse strings
The S&P 500 .SPX and the Nasdaq .IXIC marked their sharpest one-day falls since April 2025 on Thursday .N
The jitters spilled over to global markets, with Europe's STOXX 600 .STOXX down 1% MKTS/GLOB
Most sectors in London slid, barring precious metal miners .FTNMX551030 that rose 1.2%
Traditionally defensive sectors such as pharma .FTNMX201030 and personal care, drug and groceries .FTNMX452010 also slid around 3.5% each after two sessions of gains
"When $2.5 trillion of value is lost from one of the major US stock market indices in a day, it's understandable that investors are feeling on edge," said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell
Oil prices slipped on Friday, weighing on energy stocks .FTNMX601010, down 2.5%
Separately, Lloyds said British house prices fell at the fastest annual pace in a year in October, as higher mortgage costs weighed on demand
Man Group EMG.L bottomed the FTSE 250 with a 6.5% drop after Kuwait's public pension fund on Thursday won a lawsuit against the asset manager
Georgia's TBC Bank TBCG.L topped the midcap index with a 6.1% jump after its third-quarter net profit rose