FTSE 100 drops at open as bond sell-off continues

The FTSE 100 dropped again at today’s open as fears over inflation continue to weigh on markets around the world.

London’s blue chip bourse was down 0.8 per cent at 6,598 points as the global sell-off in bonds hit global equities hard. The FTSE 250 was down 0.7 per cent at 21,139 points.

This morning’s decline was led by a raft of heavyweights, including miners Fresnillo, Glencore and Rio Tinto.

However, the top faller was the London Stock Exchange Group itself, which shed 4.5 per cent despite a positive set of full year results.

Just behind came airlines group IAG, which slumped 3.5 per cent despite the overnight news that Cyprus would open to British tourists who have been vaccinated from 1 May.

Engine maker Rolls-Royce also saw shares decline over three per cent.

Risers were few and far between this morning, although a spike in global oil prices did push BP and Shell up a little way.

The jump came as the Opec producer alliance decided to maintain its production cuts through April, sending prices to their highest levels in 14 months.

Overnight, Wall Street tumbled again after Federal Reserve chief Jay Powell said that he would keep credit flowing until the pandemic was flowing, prompting a spike in bond yields.

Powell said that the Fed would not act to lean on rapidly climbing yields, which saw the surge gather pace.

The S&P 500 closed down 1.3 per cent, the Dow Jones dropped 1.1 per cent, and the Nasdaq fell another 2.1 per cent.

Since hitting record highs in the middle of February, the tech-heavy market has dropped almost 10 per cent.

Attentions will now turn to today’s non-farm payrolls report, which economists anticipating a healthy jump in the headline jobs number.