Britain’s FTSE 100 closed lower for a second consecutive session on Thursday as falling bank and energy shares outweighed strong gains in technology and software stocks.
The blue-chip index dropped 0.8% to 10,792.54 points, marking its sharpest one-day decline in about six weeks. Meanwhile, the mid-cap FTSE 250 finished almost unchanged.
Banks and Energy Stocks Drag FTSE 100 Lower
Banks were among the biggest contributors to the FTSE 100’s decline.
Gilt yields fell during the session as investors pushed back expectations for the Bank of England’s next quarter-point interest rate increase to 2027. That shift weighed on bank shares and added pressure to the main London index.
Energy stocks also struggled. Oil giants Shell and BP each lost around 1.5%, adding to the broader decline.
Despite the weakness in several major sectors, technology shares provided some support.
Technology Stocks Provide a Bright Spot
The technology sector gained about 1%, making it one of the strongest-performing areas of the market.
Investor sentiment received a boost from Nvidia’s latest outlook, which pointed to continued strong demand for artificial intelligence computing.
Nvidia expects revenue to rise sharply in its next fiscal year, reinforcing optimism that spending on AI infrastructure remains strong.
That optimism also helped Britain’s data and software companies, which have lagged other parts of the market.
Data and Software Shares Rise
Several major UK-listed data and software companies moved higher following positive forecasts from Salesforce and CrowdStrike.
Relx gained 3.3%, while London Stock Exchange Group rose 4.4%. Experian also advanced 2.8%.
The gains offered some relief for a sector that has struggled to match the performance of technology shares elsewhere in the market.
Halfords Leads FTSE Midcap Gains
Among individual companies, Halfords was one of the biggest winners.
The retailer jumped 12.6%, becoming the top performer on the FTSE Midcap index after forecasting annual profit above market expectations.
Computacenter also performed strongly, rising 4.7% to a record high.
The technology services company led gains on the FTSE 100 after Peel Hunt upgraded its rating to “buy” from “add”. The broker also increased its price target to 6,000 pence from 4,400 pence.
Ten Lifestyle Group gained 3.9% after announcing that it had secured a new multi-year contract in the Americas.
Investors Turn Attention to Kevin Warsh
Markets are now looking ahead to Friday, when Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh is scheduled to speak at the Jackson Hole economic symposium.
Investors will closely examine his comments for clues about the future direction of U.S. monetary policy.
Recent inflation data came in hotter than expected, prompting investors to modestly increase their expectations for a possible U.S. interest-rate increase next month.
Warsh’s comments could therefore influence global markets, including UK equities, bonds and currencies.
For now, however, the FTSE 100 remains under pressure after two consecutive sessions of losses, with investors balancing weakness in banks and energy stocks against continued optimism surrounding artificial intelligence and technology.
