LONDON REPORT BEST OF THE BROKERS Wall Street sell-offs sets London’s FTSE 100 adrift from top value

LONDON’s FTSE 100 was drawn into a sell-off on Wall Street last night, pushing it further below the 8,000 point threshold yesterday.

The capital’s premier index fell 0.59 to 7,930.64 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, slid 0.82 per cent to 19,688.98 points.

Investors across the pond ditched US stocks on Tuesday after a string of hotter than expected inflation and spending data firmed expectations of the Federal Reserve having to keep interest rates higher for longer to tame price pressures.

Wall Street’s top indexes, the techheavy Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones, all notched their worst trading days of 2023 so far.

Downbeat sentiment spread to Lon- don, weighing on FTSE 100 shares. Just five companies on the premier index registered gains in early trading before picking up in the afternoon.

Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: “After the FTSE 100 closed Tuesday’s session in the red, European markets have opened lower with the UK index languishing back below the key 8,000 mark.”

Minutes from the latest Fed meeting were published last night, possibly amplifying yesterday’s selloff if they signal chair Jerome Powell and other rate setters’ concerns about inflation sticking around.

Britain’s largest mortgage lender Lloyds Bank anchored the FTSE 100 during early exchanges after it posted results yesterday that revealed it set aside more than £1bn to deal with an expected jump in loan defaults.

Analysts at Peel Hunt have said they see strong future growth for homeware retailer Dunelm despite reporting a 17 per cent drop in interim profit. Peel Hunt praised its “product mastery”, which has boosted its market share to 10.8 per cent, and said its strong customer engagement and digital initiatives will “power Dunelm’s growth ambitions”. It advised to buy the stock and set a target price of 1,375p.

The absence of any news about who will next lead media company Future, which owns Marie Claire, has weighed on the firm’s share price. But confirmation that Jon Steinberg will take the helm in April “should be a positive catalyst for the shares,” Peel Hunt said. It recommended buying the stock and set a target price of 2,300p.