London open: Stocks fall after Wall Street tech selloff

(Sharecast News) - 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%