FTSE Futures Slide as Korea’s Elice IPO Flops

Summary

FTSE futures pointed lower after Korean AI infrastructure firm Elice Group sank nearly 30% below its IPO price, as the KOSPI slid. Euro Stoxx 50 and DAX futures also fell while S&P 500 futures edged up. Oil resumed its climb amid uncertainty over Trump’s Russia sanctions waiver and fresh Middle East violence. UK-listed Gulf Keystone agreed a $601 million all-share merger with Norway’s ShaMaran Petroleum.

Equities

The FTSE 100 fell 1.1% to 10,764.69 on Monday, ending a three-session winning run, as banks and miners weighed. The FTSE 250 slipped 0.6%, snapping a six-day winning streak.

Barclays fell 3.5% on Monday after the Financial Times reported that the Bank of England was examining whether its traders had misrepresented illiquid private credit loans to understate their risk. The wider banking sector dropped 2.3%.

Anglo American lost 4.1% and Glencore fell 3.3% on Monday as copper prices dipped. Industrial metal miners, aerospace and defence stocks and utilities each fell more than 2%.

Pets at Home rose about 6.7% on Monday after Peel Hunt upgraded its rating, while Mulberry gained 2.6% after the luxury handbag maker reported an 18% jump in first-half sales. Serica Energy fell 2.6% after flagging a further delay to the restart of its Triton production vessel and cutting its annual production forecast.

Volex finished bottom of the FTSE 250 on Monday after its half-year trading update. After the market closed, the Wall Street Journal reported that Unilever had agreed to sell its Welly bandage brand to Forward Consumer Partners.

Chancellor John Healey delivers his first Budget next week, with income tax on family business transfers and windfall taxes on banks expected.

The Nasdaq rose 1.11% to 26,430.89 on Monday and the S&P 500 gained 0.41% to 7,690.73, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.07% to 51,966.03. The Philadelphia semiconductor index closed 1.6% higher, ending an eight-day losing streak in which it fell about 15.7%, its longest run of declines since October 2008.

Cleveland-Cliffs surged 16% on Monday after the steelmaker beat third-quarter profit forecasts. Amazon rose 5% after Morgan Stanley named it a top pick, Tesla gained 3.8% and Intel added 2.4% after J.P. Morgan upgraded the stock to neutral from underweight.

CoreWeave closed 0.4% lower on Monday after giving up early gains following a Goldman Sachs upgrade to buy from neutral. Nebius rose 2.9% and Iren added 2.7%.

Meta slipped 0.5% on Monday ahead of its results on Wednesday, when Tesla also reports, while SpaceX reports on Tuesday.

Forex & Commodities

The US dollar was down early this morning at 101.8 against a basket of currencies, near the lower end of its range for the month, as pressure on the euro eased. Against the yen, the dollar was down at 158.2 yen after an auction of 20-year Japanese government bonds drew record demand, pushing the yield down to 3.71%. The euro was up at $1.123 despite curfews being imposed in several French cities to curb anti-government protests.

The British pound rose to $1.335 early this morning, while the Australian dollar was up at $0.6989 and the New Zealand dollar gained to 1.408 against the greenback after Alberta voters chose to remain part of Canada in a vote on the separation process.

Traders still see a 92% chance of a Federal Reserve rate hike in December, although recent comments from Fed officials have reduced expectations of a move at the October 27 to 28 meeting. German producer prices rose 6.7% in September from a year earlier.

Spot gold fell 0.3% to $4,129 an ounce early this morning as higher oil prices added to inflation concerns. Silver was up at $57.38 and platinum rose to $1,647, while palladium fell to $1,115.

Brent crude held near a five-month high early this morning, having crossed $110 a barrel on Monday for the first time since May 20. The gains followed Houthi claims of several attacks on Saudi energy, airport and military targets on Monday.

BP’s third-quarter net income is expected to jump 155% on the year, with underlying profit potentially exceeding $7 billion, up from $5.7 billion in the second quarter. Shell has guided for record refining margins of $42 a barrel and could raise its quarterly buyback to $3.5 billion. Shell reports on October 29 and BP on October 30.

Gulf Keystone Petroleum agreed a $601 million all-share merger with ShaMaran Petroleum, while Anglo American reported a 5% fall in third-quarter copper output after weather disruption in Chile.