FTSE 100 tumbles 2% as AI jitters spark global selloff

FTSE 100 Suffers Worst Drop in Months as AI Fears Trigger Global Selloff

Market Overview and Key Drivers

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 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 slipped 1.2%.

Global and Political Influences

US Political Shifts and AI Regulation Concerns

• 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

Impact on US and Global Markets

• The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq marked their sharpest one-day falls since April 2025 on Thursday [.N]

• The jitters spilled over to global markets, with Europe's STOXX 600 down 1% [MKTS/GLOB]

Sector Performance in London

Winners and Losers

• Most sectors in London slid, barring precious metal miners that rose 1.2%

Defensive Sectors Under Pressure

• Traditionally defensive sectors such as pharma and personal care, drug and groceries also slid around 3.5% each after two sessions of gains

Market Sentiment

• "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

Commodity and Company News

Oil Prices and Energy Stocks

• Oil prices slipped on Friday, weighing on energy stocks, down 2.5%

UK Housing and Corporate Movers

• 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 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 topped the midcap index with a 6.1% jump after its third-quarter net profit rose

(Reporting by Darshan Kumar and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)