London open: Stocks fall after Wall Street tech selloff
London stocks fell in early trade on Friday, taking their cue from a downbeat session on Wall Street, where Amazon's AI spending spree reignited worries about the tech sector.
At 0835 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 10,283.35.
Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "A recurring theme is emerging: both Alphabet and Amazon delivered strong underlying business performance, driven by better-than-expected growth in cloud. But that hasn't been enough to distract markets from their ballooning capital investment plans, which sit at mammoth levels of $175-185bn and $200bn respectively for 2026, as they fight to ramp up capacity and remain near the front of the AI race.
"As a result, Alphabet shares are down another 2.7% in pre-market trading today, while Amazon shares dropped 11.2% following its results last night. Software stocks continue to slide, with Bloomberg estimating the sector has lost 20% in the past week."
On home shores, data from Halifax showed house prices rebounded in January to a record high.
House prices rose 0.7% on the month following a 0.5% decline in December. On the year, prices were up 1% in January following a 0.4% increase the month before.
The average price of a home stood at £300,077, up from £297,938 in December and above £300,000 for the first time.
Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said: "While that's undoubtedly a milestone figure, and activity levels show a resilient market, affordability remains a challenge for many would-be buyers.
"Broader economic conditions continue to provide some support. Wage growth has been outpacing property price inflation since late 2022, steadily improving underlying affordability. That's a positive trend for buyers, and the long-term health of the market.
"And we're now seeing more mortgage deals below 4%. If inflation continues to ease, there should be further gradual reductions as the year goes on. "All in all, we still think house prices are likely to edge up between 1% and 3% this year."
In equity markets, software stocks were under the cosh again, with Relx, LSEG, Sage Group, Experian, Kainos, Trustpilot and Bytes Technology among the worst performers.
High-performance polymers business Victrex also slumped after saying its 2026 first-half performance was expected to be weaker than the same period a year earlier.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,283.35 -0.25%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,018.28 -0.37%
techMARK (TASX) 5,883.91 -0.66%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Centrica (CNA) 193.05p 1.50%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 658.40p 1.29%
Barclays (BARC) 471.00p 0.98%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 106.70p 0.85%
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 7,050.00p 0.71%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,563.00p 0.71%
BP (BP.) 472.30p 0.68%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,859.50p 0.68%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 4,282.00p 0.56%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 422.60p 0.55%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Relx plc (REL) 2,147.00p -4.54%
The Sage Group (SGE) 839.20p -3.67%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 7,308.00p -3.66%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,253.50p -3.09%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 10,850.00p -2.95%
Entain (ENT) 601.20p -2.53%
Pearson (PSON) 879.00p -2.05%
Experian (EXPN) 2,577.00p -1.68%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,403.00p -1.68%
Mondi (MNDI) 885.80p -1.62%
FTSE 250 - Risers
HGCapital Trust (HGT) 424.00p 5.08%
International Workplace Group (IWG) 236.00p 2.52%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 518.50p 2.07%
Bodycote (BOY) 769.00p 1.72%
SDCL Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 50.00p 1.63%
Ithaca Energy (ITH) 184.10p 1.60%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 225.80p 1.07%
Paragon Banking Group (PAG) 861.00p 0.76%
Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 678.00p 0.74%
Greencoat UK Wind (UKW) 98.50p 0.72%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Victrex plc (VCT) 659.00p -5.32%
Future (FUTR) 458.80p -5.13%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 64.80p -3.71%
W.A.G Payment Solutions (EWG) 120.50p -3.60%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 744.50p -3.56%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 153.60p -3.09%
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 299.00p -2.86%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 224.20p -2.48%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 264.50p -2.40%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 310.50p -2.36%
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