London open: Stocks fall as Lloyds, NatWest under pressure
London stocks fell in early trade on Friday, with banks under pressure following reports that chancellor John Healey will raise taxes on the sector in his Budget later this month.
At 0825 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 10,809.15.
According to the Guardian, one option being discussed is reversing cuts to the bank surcharge made by Jeremy Hunt, which would raise upwards of £2bn a year. The Guardian said industry figures believe that will probably mean raising the surcharge back to 8% from 3%, to help bolster the government’s fiscal headroom.
Meanwhile, senior banking executives told the BBC they expect the sector to be "on the menu" when the chancellor announces his Budget.
Angeline Ong, senior technical analyst at IG, said: "A UK bank tax risk is now a base case. If it is confirmed on Oct 28, it'll be the size and timing that will be key.
"If Healey does go ahead, shares of Lloyds and NatWest, which are almost entirely exposed to the UK, would likely be impacted most, and you are seeing this already in the share price reaction today. Barclays is partly exposed. HSBC is least exposed in the mix."
Lloyds and NatWest were the worst performers on the FTSE 100, down 1.8% and 1.5%, respectively.
On the upside, Computacenter was among the top performers, having slumped on Thursday amid the tech selloff.
Man Group rallied as said assets under management increased to $270.9bn as at 30 September from $253.6bn three months earlier.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,809.15 -0.29%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,475.29 0.21%
techMARK (TASX) 6,252.59 0.02%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Melrose Industries (MRO) 484.30p 1.78%
Computacenter (CCC) 5,240.00p 1.55%
Weir (WEIR) 2,646.00p 1.38%
Fresnillo (FRES) 2,691.00p 1.35%
WPP (WPP) 406.80p 1.30%
Glencore (GLEN) 580.20p 1.25%
Spirax Group (SPX) 7,390.00p 1.23%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,373.80p 1.21%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 2,700.00p 1.09%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 2,134.00p 0.94%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 103.50p -1.84%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 659.00p -1.48%
GSK (GSK) 1,846.50p -1.31%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 12,552.00p -1.20%
Next (NXT) 15,145.00p -1.11%
Haleon (HLN) 371.00p -1.04%
SEGRO (SGRO) 913.00p -0.97%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 234.40p -0.93%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 4,388.00p -0.90%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,867.00p -0.87%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Ruffer Investment Company Ltd Red PTG Pref Shares (RICA) 304.00p 4.83%
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 325.40p 4.23%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 692.00p 4.12%
PPHE Hotel Group Ltd (PPH) 1,498.00p 3.60%
Edinburgh Worldwide Inv Trust (EWI) 271.50p 3.23%
Man Group (EMG) 344.40p 3.15%
Renishaw (RSW) 5,555.00p 2.68%
Seraphim Space Investment Trust (SSIT) 199.60p 2.67%
NCC Group (NCC) 157.60p 2.60%
THG (THG) 32.80p 2.50%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
RTW Biotech Opportunities Ltd (RTW) 2.18p -3.96%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 287.40p -3.33%
JPMorgan Emerging Markets Dividend Income (JEMI) 198.00p -2.94%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,730.00p -2.33%
Worldwide Healthcare Trust (WWH) 370.00p -2.25%
Rank Group (RNK) 72.80p -1.75%
Pollen Street Group Limited (POLN) 896.00p -1.75%
BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust (BRSC) 266.00p -1.66%
W.A.G Payment Solutions (EWG) 99.90p -1.48%
XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 1,870.00p -1.48%