The FTSE 100 is on track for its worst run in nine months amid a sell-off of blue-chip utilities and gaming giant Flutter.
On Tuesday, the index was set to endure its fifth consecutive daily decline, which analysts attributed to election-related volatility.
At midday, the City’s blue-chip stocks were down 0.3% at around 8,291, heading towards their longest streak of daily losses since August 2023.
Among the companies dragging the index down were utility groups like Severn Trent and United Utilities, amid an ongoing crisis in the water sector.
Shares in Flutter also fell by 4.8% on Tuesday, as the company faces the prospect of a tax hike in the US. However, shares in online grocery retailer Ocado climbed more than 8%, defying the broader market trend.
With Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer on the campaign trail, Guy Lawson-Johns, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, commented: “Last week’s election announcement is causing some short-term volatility in the markets.”
The FTSE has dropped around 1.5% since closing at a record high of 8,445.80 on May 15.
Shares in UK-listed water companies fell on Tuesday. Stocks of FTSE 100 group United Utilities and other listed utility firms, including FTSE 250 companies Pennon and Severn Trent, dropped by over 3% amid an ongoing sector crisis.
The Guardian reported on Tuesday that Ofwat, the water regulator, plans to reject most water companies’ requests for bill increases. The water industry has been lobbying to raise prices to fund modernization and repairs.
