FTSE 100 Slips as Bond Rout Hits Global Equities

By Shivani Kumaresan

(Reuters) – The export-heavy FTSE 100 fell on Friday as a broader sell-off in bonds spread to global equities, while British Airways owner IAG rose 4.2% even as it posted a loss of more than $5 billion.

The FTSE 100 slipped 0.2%, tracking losses in Europe and Asia as surging bond yields sparked fears of higher interest rates despite assurances by the world’s major central banks. [MKTS/GLOB]

Oil producers BP and Royal Dutch Shell and mining stocks, including Rio Tinto, Anglo American, and BHP, were the biggest drags on the index, tracking a fall in oil and metal prices. [O/R] [MET/L]

“We just have to accept that yields are going to drift higher with the vaccine rollout, and the sort of recovery that is taking place seems to drive a massive runoff in stocks, particularly the big tech names in the U.S.,” said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com.

“There’s going to be some upside still for the FTSE as the global economy recovers and it doesn’t have a lot of growth names like Apples and Amazons. It is full of companies exposed to global cyclical growth and that should stand in good stead.”

The FTSE 100 has risen more than 3% in February, helped by mining, energy and banking stocks on expectations of a vaccine-led economic recovery, but increasing concerns about inflation have sparked a pullback this week.

British finance minister Rishi Sunak, who is trying to steer the economy through a third coronavirus lockdown before an expected recovery later this year, looks set to rely heavily on the debt markets again when he announces a budget plan on March 3.

The domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index fell 0.5%, led by declines in industrials and consumer discretionary stocks.

Rightmove, which runs Britain’s largest online real estate portal, shed 1.5% even as it expected robust market activity this year ahead of a potential extension of a tax break.

(Reporting by Shivani Kumaresan in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)