FTSE 100, Asian and U.S. Indexes Drop Amid Investor Caution
Global markets endured another turbulent session on Friday as a tech sell-off dragged Wall Street to its worst day in a month and fresh data from China revealed a record slump in fixed-asset investment. The double blow heightened investor anxiety over slowing global growth and fading hopes for near-term U.S. interest rate cuts.
In London, the FTSE 100 closed down 1.1% — roughly 100 points lower at 9,698 — as banking heavyweights Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest slumped between 2.7% and 3.6%. The index had flirted with the 10,000-point mark earlier in the week before reversing course amid renewed risk aversion. Meanwhile, the pound weakened nearly 0.5% to $1.31 after Chancellor Rachel Reeves abandoned plans to raise income tax rates in the upcoming budget.
Wall Street Turbulence and Tech Sector Sell-Off
U.S. markets struggled to regain footing after Thursday’s steep declines. The S&P 500 briefly dipped before closing flat, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7%. The Nasdaq Composite tumbled as much as 1.8% before clawing back losses to end up 0.1%.
The sell-off was led by Nvidia, which dropped 3.6% after reports that SoftBank had sold its entire stake in the $4.5 trillion AI giant. The move triggered a wave of profit-taking across the tech sector. Other chipmakers also sank: SK Hynix slid more than 6%, Samsung Electronics lost 4%, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company declined 1.8%.
“The S&P 500 posted its worst day in over a month,” said Jim Reid of Deutsche Bank. “The probability of a December rate cut has fallen sharply from about 59% midweek to 49% last night.”
Asia and Europe Follow Wall Street Lower
The global sell-off rippled through Asia and Europe. The Stoxx 600 fell 0.9%, while France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.54% and Germany’s DAX lost nearly 0.9%. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei slid 1.8%, South Korea’s KOSPI plunged 2.6%, and Australia’s benchmark index fell 1.5%.
Markets in China also weakened following grim economic data. The National Bureau of Statistics reported that fixed-asset investment shrank 1.7% in the first ten months of 2025 — the steepest decline on record. The CSI 300 dropped 0.7%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.9%, and Taiwan’s Taiex shed 1.4%.
“Extraordinarily weak investment figures raised hopes of more stimulus from Chinese authorities,” said Kyle Rodda, senior analyst at Capital.com. “But there was still a high degree of sluggishness in Asian risk assets amid fears of inadequate returns on AI investments.”
Economic and Political Headwinds Weigh on Sentiment
U.S. investors also remain cautious amid the longest federal government shutdown in history, which has halted the release of key inflation and employment data. The uncertainty has added to volatility in equities and bonds.
In the U.K., 30-year government bond yields rose 12 basis points as markets digested the fiscal implications of Reeves’s tax reversal. Analysts warned that the move could complicate debt management and weigh on investor confidence heading into the November 26 budget.
Deutsche Bank’s Reid summarized the global mood: “Relief over the end of the shutdown is competing with concerns over AI valuations and the Fed’s next move. It’s certainly been a volatile week in terms of sentiment.”
