Published by Global Banking & Finance Review

Posted on November 6, 2026

· Last updated: November 6, 2026

FTSE 100 Suffers Worst Drop in Months as AI Fears Trigger Global Selloff

Market Overview and Key Drivers

Nov 6 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 was poised to log its steepest fall in over seven months and a weekly decline on Friday as AI jitters following a change in the US political landscape sparked a global selloff. 

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index fell 2.2% to 10,540.78 points by 1143 GMT, on track for its worst session since mid-March, while the midcap FTSE 250 slipped 1.2%.

Global and Political Influences

• The Democrats' capture of the US House and Senate earlier this week sparked concerns of AI regulation, a slowdown in data-centre construction and hyperscalers tightening their purse strings

• The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq marked their sharpest one-day falls since April 2025 on Thursday [.N]

• The jitters spilled over to global markets, with Europe's STOXX 600 down 1% [MKTS/GLOB]

Sector Performance in London

• Most sectors in London slid, barring precious metal miners that rose 1.2%

• Traditionally defensive sectors such as pharma and personal care, drug and groceries also slid around 3.5% each after two sessions of gains

• "When $2.5 trillion of value is lost from one of the major US stock market indices in a day, it's understandable that investors are feeling on edge," said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell

Commodity and Company News

• Oil prices slipped on Friday, weighing on energy stocks, down 2.5%

• Separately, Lloyds said British house prices fell at the fastest annual pace in a year in October, as higher mortgage costs weighed on demand

• Man Group bottomed the FTSE 250 with a 6.5% drop after Kuwait's public pension fund on Thursday won a lawsuit against the asset manager

• Georgia's TBC Bank topped the midcap index with a 6.1% jump after its third-quarter net profit rose

(Reporting by Darshan Kumar and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)

Key Takeaways

  • FTSE 100 posted steepest drop in over seven months, dragged by global AI‑related selloff after Democrats won US Congress control
  • S&P 500 and Nasdaq delivered their largest one‑day falls since April 2025, triggering spill‑over into Europe; STOXX 600 down 1%
  • UK housing market showed strain: October house prices dropped 1.2% YoY—the steepest annual decline since October 2023 (Lloyds)

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