Friday saw London's FTSE indexes slide,hit by falling commodity stocks and uncertainty around AI shares . Blue-chip FTSE 100 dropped 0.7% by 0907 GMT,while midcap FTSE 250 fell 0.6%. Energy stocks dragged FTSE 100 down,with heavyweights like Shell and BP each losing over 1% as crude prices fell 2% after Strait of Hormuz shipping resumed.
Stronger dollar and global tech stock worries,plus inflation pressure,hit both base and precious metals hard . Chemical sector led declines,plummeting 2.8%,and mining stocks also lost over 1% each. But sectors seen as more stable in economic storms showed gains,with Food,Beverage and Tobacco and Personal Goods each rising by 1%.
Among gainers,money transfer company Wise jumped 7.6% after reporting 21% rise in active customers to 18.9 million in fiscal 2026 . They also announced new share buyback program.
In political arena,Andy Burnham expected to become new UK Prime Minister after Keir Starmer's resignation earlier this week. Investors eyeing Burnham's fiscal policy ideas and speculating on his finance minister pick. FTSE midcap index,more sensitive to UK economic shifts,faces modest weekly losses,while internationally focused FTSE 100 set for its biggest weekly gain in over month…
