FTSE drops as war continues in Ukraine

The FTSE 100’s march was a slow descent into deep red territory as it sunk back towards the lows seen a week ago when Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine.

The index ended the day on a much worse footing than most of its major international peers, dragged down by ITV and St Petersburg-headquartered Polymetal.

After a total collapse when Vladimir Putin ordered his tanks over the border a week ago, the FTSE bounced back a day later, wiping out all of its losses.

But after a fall on Monday the index treaded water until Thursday, when it slowly but steadily descended throughout the day.

It closed at 7,238.85, down 2.6%, a drop of 190.71 points.

It was a poor showing even when compared to international peers. On Wall Street the S&P 500 had dropped 0.5% as markets were closing in London and the Dow Jones lost 0.4%.

In Europe the German Dax index lost 2.2%, while France’s Cac 40 closed down 1.8%.

“Wednesday’s rebound was predictably short-lived against the backdrop of reports of intensifying attacks by Russian troops as they close in on cities across the country,” said Craig Erlam, an analyst at Oanda.

“The sanctions that have been levelled at Russia since the invasion started have been far more severe than many expected and we’re learning more about their devastating impact with every passing day.

“While there is some hope that talks between the two countries can yield a breakthrough, it’s tough to see where a compromise can be found or whether Russia is even interested in one.

“It was involved in talks before it crossed the border and it’s clear now that there was no intention to find a diplomatic solution.”

On currency markets a pound could buy 1.3332 dollars, a drop of 0.06%, or 1.2061 euros, up 0.02%.

Oil hit a record not seen in 10 years during the day, with Brent crude pushing towards 120 dollars per barrel, but by the end of the day it had given back some of those gains, at 113.09 dollars.

In company news the London Stock Exchange topped the FTSE 100 with a 9.6% rise, after it suspended trading in 28 companies linked to Russia.

The move was sparked by sanctions on Russia and the stock exchange said it was “closely monitoring” the conflict’s impact and took the decision to ensure that it could run an “orderly market”.

ITV saw its shares drop more than 27% after investors became worried over the amount of money it plans to spend to launch a new on-demand platform called ITVX.

The business said that it hopes to double digital sales by 2026, and posted an increase in annual profits.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were London Stock Exchange, up 614p to 6,984p, Glencore, up 23.9p to 476.5p, Anglo American, up 39p to 3,968p, Royal Mail, up 2p to 361p, and Severn Trent, up 5p to 336.6p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Polymetal, down 129p to 177.6p, ITV, down 30p to 80.22p, Admiral Group, down 418p to 2,540p, Evraz, down 7p to 53.1p, and Melrose Industries, down 12p to 129.9p.