Markets wobble on second-wave fears

Speculation about a new lockdown in Britain saw the FTSE 100 slide 3.4% on Monday, its worst one-day loss since June.

Larry Kudlow, Director of the White House National Economic Council © Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Blame Britain for the turmoil, says Trump adviser Larry Kudlow
(Image credit: © Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

The eyes of global investors were trained on London this week, but not for good reasons. Speculation about a new lockdown in Britain saw the FTSE 100 slide 3.4% on Monday, its worst one-day loss since June. The drop wiped £52bn off the value of British companies. Concern about a second wave of the pandemic in Spain and France also hit European bourses, with Germany’s Dax falling 4.6% on Monday. The FTSE remained volatile the following day but finished higher as Boris Johnson announced milder measures than many had feared.

Markets were already feeling woozy before this week’s new pandemic restrictions, says Rupert Thompson of wealth manager Kingswood. Global equities ended last week down 4.5% from their early September highs. “Central banks have now spent most of their ammunition,” but politicians are reluctant to provide further fiscal stimulus – in the UK, debate continues about extending furlough schemes beyond October. This week’s turmoil was a reminder that Covid-19 can still rattle investors.

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Markets editor

Alex is an investment writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2015. He has been the magazine’s markets editor since 2019. 

Alex has a passion for demystifying the often arcane world of finance for a general readership. While financial media tends to focus compulsively on the latest trend, the best opportunities can lie forgotten elsewhere. 

He is especially interested in European equities – where his fluent French helps him to cover the continent’s largest bourse – and emerging markets, where his experience living in Beijing, and conversational Chinese, prove useful. 

Hailing from Leeds, he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford. He also holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Manchester.