Market Report: FTSE fumbles after Wall Street endures tech selloff as US bond yields rise

FTSE 100 largely avoided the carnage seen in Asian and US markets overnight caused by rising US bond yield and a slump in technology stocks. London’s blue-chip index was down 9 points at 6,642 in early trades.  

Scottish Mortgage Trust (LON:SMT) is a big faller. The trust is one of the UK’s biggest investors in Silicon Valley and is seen as a proxy for the tech-heavy NASDAQ which dropped 3.5% overnight.  

IAG, the owner of airlines British Airways and Iberia, posted losses of nearly €8bn in 2020 as COVID-19 restrictions cut passenger revenues by 75%. For the current quarter, IAG said it expects to be running at 20% of 2019 passenger capacity.

Hipgnosis Songs  (LON:SONG) said Journey’s ’Don’t Stop Believin” hit the one billion stream landmark on Spotify this week. Only Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody has previously crossed the billon plays mark.

Among the small caps, Panthera Resources PLC (LON:PAT) has agreed a £1mln deal to sell its interest in an underground mine in Germany. It will sell its 9.7mln shares in Anglo Saxony Mining, which soon will float on the public market, at 12p each.

EQTEC PLC (LON:EQT) has made another step towards building the UK’s first sustainable waste-to-energy plant. The firm has signed a conditional Land Purchase Agreement in North East England.

Mode Global Holdings PLC (LON:MODE) raised £6mln in an oversubscribed placing of shares at a premium to October’s IPO price. The fintech will use the funds to launch its new payments solution powered by Open Banking reforms that eliminates the need for cards.

Story by ProactiveInvestors