Friday Morning Markets: FTSE 100, European Stocks Slide as Tech Stock Fragility Dents Sentiment

European equity markets are in the red this Friday morning, following a bruising overnight session across Asia. 

The FTSE 100 is down 0.5% and the FTSE 250 off 0.4%, while on the continent the DAX leads losses at -0.9%, with the CAC 40 falling 0.4% and the Stoxx 50 shedding 0.6%.

Overnight, there was a drop in many key Asian markets, with South Korea’s KOSPI plunging over 8% (it closed down over 5%), triggering a circuit breaker, as fragile tech stocks continued to unwind amid growing concerns. 

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Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed down around 4.1%, with Softbank tumbling due to concerns about a delay in the OpenAI IPO.

Sentiment was dented on Thursday when Apple fell sharply on Wall Street after announcing product price hikes, citing rising memory costs.

Stocks in Focus

Wise (LON: WISE) shares have jumped after the company released full-year results and unveiled plans for a new share buyback programme worth at least $500 million.

On Thursday, BAE Systems (LON: BA.) slipped around 1.5% with analysts at Morgan Stanley and Erste Group split on their view of the stock. 

FTSE 100 Movers

Defensive names are finding favour early on. Imperial Brands (+2.03%) and British American Tobacco (+1.83%) both advance, while supermarkets Tesco (+1.52%) and Sainsbury’s (+1.51%) rise as investors rotate into consumer staples.

To the downside, Croda International leads fallers at -2.96%, dragged lower by the broader risk-off tone, followed by Lion Finance Group (-2.09%) and Glencore (-2.00%), the latter weighed by softening commodity prices.

FTSE 250

Saga (LON: SAGA) is the mid-cap standout, gaining a further 3.5% following Thursday’s impressive 8.6% surge. AEP Plantations sits at the other extreme, tumbling 8.67%.