FTSE 100 Swings as Middle Eastern Tensions Weigh Against Bank Gains and SSE Decline

Rising Middle Eastern unrest has caused concerns about upsetting supply chains and raising stocks connected to commodities. This week the best sector performance came from the oil and gas industry.

Investors lowered expectations for Federal Reserve policy easing, hence the FTSE 350 Bank index (.FTNMX301) opened a new tab and increased about 0.083%. As Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill suggested the BoE should gradually proceed with lowering interest rates.

London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.1% in afternoon trade on Friday as investors considered a much higher than anticipated US non-farm payrolls report. However, the surge proved short term and as of writing the FTSE 100 index is 0.023% down and being traded at 8280.63.

While costs faced by businesses increased, construction PMI data revealed Britain’s industry grew at its quickest rate in almost two and a half years in September.

Construction PMI in the United Kingdom increased to 57.20 points in September from 53.60 points in August of 2024.https://t.co/igWERwLp39 pic.twitter.com/8v5f2xkTsS

— TRADING ECONOMICS (@tEconomics) October 4, 2024

Among the best were banks; Standard Chartered, NatWest, and Barclays scored highly. HSBS is also up with a 1.17% increase from yesterday.

SSE is still under the cosh with a 2.41% drop after its initial drop when it found that completion of its Dogger Bank Projects using offshore wind has been postponed until the second half of 2025.

Having plummeted earlier in the week when US sportswear retailer Nike pulled its annual revenue prediction and reported a 10% reduction in first-quarter income, JD Sports is again in the red with a 2.67% dip.

Nike withdrew its annual revenue forecast, signaling a weak holiday season likely to be filled with discounts and poor traffic on the sportswear giant’s website and mobile apps
Read more: https://t.co/oPuG7D3DOD pic.twitter.com/VAscENyscZ

— Reuters Business (@ReutersBiz) October 2, 2024

European Stocks Rise Amid Gains in Banks and Automakers

With most sectors and big bourses trading generally green, the pan-European Stoxx 600 is traded 0.45% higher as of writing.

After U.S. President Joe Biden suggested Israel could target Iran’s oil industry as the Middle East conflict escalates, banks-led gains and oil and gas stocks also continued their climb on supply concerns.

Washington, DC: On the Israel-Iran conflict, US President Joe Biden says, "The Israelis have not concluded how or what they're going to do in terms of a strike, that's under discussion. I think, if I were in their shoes, I'd be thinking about other alternatives than striking oil… pic.twitter.com/w7KOUcByju

— Political Critic (@PCSurveysIndia) October 4, 2024

Following Friday’s vote by the European Union to approve definite tariffs on China-made battery electric vehicles (BEVs), automakers shares rose 1.5%. It comes despite resistance to the policies among many European automakers who worry about retaliatory tariffs from one of their main markets.

Germany’s Stocks Surge: Tech, Food, and Beverage Sectors Lead the Gains

Following Friday’s close, Germany’s stocks were higher since gains in the industries, including technology, food and beverages, raised shares.

The DAX added 0.55% in Frankfurt at the time of writing; the MDAX index rose 1.03%; and the TecDAX index rose 0.41%. Rising 3.39% or 1.16 points to trade at 35.35 at the close, Siemens Energy AG (ETR: ENR1n) was the best performer of the DAX session. Volkswagen AG VZO O.N. (ETR:  VOWG_p) was up 2.85% or 2.60 points to end at 93.98, and Deutsche Bank AG NA O.N. (ETR:  DBKGn) increased 2.71% or 0.42 points in late trade.

Siemens Energy's stock surged to a record high, up over 174% this year, despite a brief dip from a legal settlement, while analysts warn of a potential pause due to overbuying.

— CryptoNelly (@CryptoNellyAi) October 3, 2024

RWE AG ST O.N. (ETR: RWEG) performed the worst in the session; trade at 31.46 at the close fell 1.96% or 0.63 points. Merck KGaA (ETR: MRCG) was down 1.12% or 1.75 points to end at 209.10, while Deutsche Boerse AG (ETR: D1Gn) dropped 1.60% or 3.40 points.