British equities fall in broad market selloff; Dr Martens tumbles
April 16 (Reuters) – London stocks dropped nearly 2% on Tuesday with its broadest selloff in years on growing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and reduced expectations of U.S. interest rate cuts, while a slide in Dr Martens exacerbated losses.
The FTSE 100 logged its biggest intraday percentage drop in eight months, with nearly all stocks on the index ending in the red, while for the FTSE 250 the drop was the worst in three months.
Equities have been under heavy selling pressure as recent economic data in the U.S. have pushed back rate-cut expectations, with money markets expecting the Bank of England to cut rates by 41 basis points in 2024.
“Currently there is one rate cut fully priced in and a high chance of a second cut. We think that the prospect of a second cut is now less likely,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
Reporting by Pranav Kashyap, Khushi Singh and Shubham Batra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Janane Venkatraman and Shounak Dasgupta
