FTSE 100 closes at 10,761 as housing data weighs on sentiment (9 Nov)

UK housing data shows 1.2% annual property value decline

FTSE 100 futures are expected to open lower as sentiment is negatively impacted by weak domestic housing data. The Lloyds House Price Index reported that UK property values decreased 1.2% year-on-year and 0.6% month-on-month in October.

The Consumer Discretionary sector saw a decline of slightly less than 1% over the past seven days. The Real Estate sector showed little movement over the past week despite a strong performance in the previous month.

Brent crude volatility and mining sector pressures

Miners and defense stocks led the downward pressure on the FTSE 100 index. Mining stocks including Anglo American, Fresnillo, and Antofagasta fell 3.9%, 3.2%, and 3.2% respectively.

Brent crude oil prices traded around $105 a barrel after a 7% drop on Monday, following a slight recovery to $106.47 earlier in the session. Crude prices rebounded over 1.5% after a sharp slide the previous day, fueling inflation anxieties ahead of the Bank of England's upcoming interest rate decision.

Corporate updates from Drax and ACG Metals

Drax shares rose 8.7% following the announcement of an AI data centre partnership. ACG Metals Ltd agreed to acquire Blue Moon Norway for $220 million in shares to expand its European copper production.

International Biotechnology Trust Plc reported a 73.6% share-price total return and a 64.7% NAV return for fiscal year 2026.

Oxford BioDynamics PLC finalized a £9.15 million placing after securing the final £250,000 from three existing shareholders. Zanaga Iron Ore Co Ltd finished its bulk sampling program, extracting 30,000 tonnes of ore for its 12Mtpa Stage 1 project.

Pan African Resources PLC reported a net decrease of 3.86 million ASX-listed CDIs in October 2026, leaving 48.04 million outstanding.

Apple Inc. shares slipped in extended trading after the company provided a gross margin forecast of 45%–46%, which was softer than expected despite a quarterly earnings beat.

US markets show mixed results as midterm elections begin

US markets delivered mixed results on Monday as voters headed to the polls for midterm elections. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.1% to 25,164, while the S&P 500 lost 0.5% to 7,541. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4% to 51,984.

The S&P 500 tracking index is attempting to recover from the 0.5% loss it sustained on the previous day. Futures show S&P 500 contracts have ticked up 0.2%. Nasdaq-100 futures jumped 0.8% as semiconductor stocks stabilized. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures declined by approximately 127 points, or 0.2%. Market participants are tracking voter turnout and polling indications throughout the day.

Historical FTSE 100 performance review

CNBC reported that the FTSE 100 traded at 10,712.53 on November 5, marking an increase of 0.36%. By November 6, the index recorded its largest single-day decline since March. Historical data indicates the UK100 index failed to maintain a position above 8,000 in February and may face resistance at the 7,700 level.

US tech sector faces correction and data center concerns

5, entering correction territory by dropping more than 10% below its record high set last month. These three major indices recorded their worst daily performance since April 2025.

Investors are concerned that a Democratic sweep of Congress and key gubernatorial wins could hinder data center expansion. Bernie Sanders called for a national moratorium on data centers, stating, "Americans don’t want Big Tech oligarchs wrecking the environment, gutting jobs and threatening humanity’s future".

The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) fell more than 12% on Thursday, marking its worst day since the March 2020 Covid-19 breakout. Broadcom shares fell 10%, Nvidia dropped 9%, Oracle declined almost 7%, and Qualcomm fell 9%.

The Magnificent 7 tech stocks lost nearly $900 billion in aggregate market value heading into the final hour of trading on Thursday. Individual losses included Nvidia at $374 billion, Tesla at $161 billion, Microsoft at $117 billion, Apple at nearly $59 billion, Meta Platforms at almost $58 billion, Amazon at about $55 billion, and Alphabet at more than $42 billion.

Trading below a 200-day moving average indicates a potential long-term downtrend.

Tim Holland, chief investment officer at Orion, said investors are "stepping away until they get a better sense of the implications of the midterms around the AI capex cycle in particular, which is the biggest economic tailwind we’ve had going for us for the last, call it, three years".

Truist Securities downgraded Nike to hold from sell on Thursday, keeping a $29 price target. Nike shares have declined 38% year-to-date.

The FTSE 250 index dropped 1% to 24,682 points, while the AIM All-Share index fell 0.3% to 755 points.