London opened on the back foot this morning, picking up the negative tone from Wall Street after a bruising session on Thursday. Every major US index closed sharply lower, undoing the brief optimism that followed Nvidia’s latest results.
The Dow finished down 0.8%, the S&P 500 dropped 1.6% and the Nasdaq slid 2.2%.
Nvidia was the clearest sign of how fragile sentiment has become. The stock was up about 5% mid-afternoon in London, only to close more than 3% lower as doubts over stretched AI valuations resurfaced. The wider market rolled over heavily, giving the S&P its biggest intraday swing since the turbulent week that followed the Liberation Day tariffs in April.
Crypto didn’t escape the mood either. Bitcoin dropped more than five per cent to the mid-$86,000s yesterday evening and briefly traded near $81,000 overnight. The slide has added another layer of pressure to risk appetite, especially with the US debate over crypto market structure still rumbling in the background.
The economic data flow hasn’t offered much clarity. September’s delayed nonfarm payrolls report showed 119,000 jobs added against expectations of around 50,000. That looked strong at first glance, but sharp downward revisions to prior months and a surprise rise in the unemployment rate to 4.4% left the picture far less tidy. It also happens to be the last jobs report the Federal Reserve will see before its December decision, which has left markets trying to decide whether the data was reassuring or not.
UK data didn’t help sentiment either. Borrowing for October came in higher than expected at £17.43 billion, still one of the largest October totals on record and uncomfortably timed for the Treasury with the budget now days away. Retail sales for the month also disappointed, falling 1.1% after a stronger September.
Against that backdrop, the FTSE 100 slipped 0.6% at the open to 9,471. The FTSE 250 matched the move, while the AIM All-Share lost close to one per cent.
Scottish Mortgage fell more than 2% in early trading as its US tech exposure worked against it. Defensive names held up better, with Severn Trent and United Utilities both in positive territory.
The heaviest selling hit energy names. Ithaca Energy dropped more than 9% after a downgrade from Goldman Sachs, while Tullow Oil plunged about 25% as it entered talks on refinancing options ahead of its 2026 bond maturity and guided 2025 production to the lower end of expectations.
Nvidia’s numbers may have been solid, but the fade in US markets shows how little conviction there is in this rally.
Investors are taking risk off the table again.