FTSE 100 brushes off Prime Minister’s no confidence vote
The FTSE 100 opened flat on Tuesday as investors were largely unaffected by the Prime Minister narrowly dodging a vote of no confidence last night.
The capital’s premier index was mostly unchanged at 7,610 points on opening on Tuesday.
Tory MPs voted by 211 to 148 in support of the Prime Minister as part of a confidence vote last night, following revelations he broke his own Covid lockdown laws.
Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said a “dramatic reaction” to the political drama had been avoided by the blue chip index.
However, the debacle had limited progress, with no meaningful additions to the 75 point gains the FTSE began the week with, she said.
Lund-Yates added: “Political turmoil is always bound to leave a mark on UK investor confidence, but the full extent of any market moves will depend on how quickly the saga is truly put to bed. There’s still plenty of uncertainty looming about the stability of the current government, and until those jitters have gone, the market will struggle to find its place.”
Mining giants, including Rio Tinto and Anglo American, led the FTSE 100, with both seeing share price gains of some one per cent on Tuesday morning.
It comes as the price of Brent Crude continues to hover around $120 a barrel.
Asset manager Intermediate Capital Group was the biggest faller on the FTSE 100 on Tuesday morning, down more than two per cent.
Retailer JD Sports Fashion and B&Q owner Kingfisher also both saw shares drop by around two per cent, with the latest retail spending figures painting a gloomy picture for the UK high street.
Consumers are tightening their purse strings by cancelling digital subscriptions and holding off on buying new sofas, as inflation sits at a 40-year high.
Shoppers’ hesitancy to splash the cash on unnecessary treats or big ticket purchases has contributed to a retail sales growth slowdown, according to a tranche of spending statistics published today.
May saw the lowest like-for-like sales growth in 15 months as Brits fret about paying inflated household bills and hold off on discretionary spending, BDO’s high street sales tracker found.
JD Sports has been dealt a further blow as it admitted it was preparing for a £2m bill ahead of a likely fine by the competition watchdog and linked legal fees.
The pound has edged lower back towards two-year lows, down down to £1.247.