FTSE 100 watch: Footsie extends losses in wake of Brexit vote

The FTSE 100 index has fallen into the red in today’s session, extending Friday’s hefty losses in the aftermath of the UK’s referendum last Thursday when the majority of voters backed the ‘Leave’ camp. In individual movers, easyJet (LON:EZJ) has tumbled to the bottom of the blue-chip leaderboard after warning on third-quarter revenues and profits.

As of 12:18 BST, the Footsie had shed 99.08 points to stand 1.61 percent lower at 6,039.61. Risk-off sentiment has continued today in the wake of last week’s referendum despite comments from Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne who tried to calm markets that the UK economy remained strong.
“In short, Osborne’s call for calm couldn’t outweigh the situation in the banking sector, which took another turn for the worse early in the European session,” Connor Campbell at Spreadex said in a note. Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) is currently leading the sector lower, having tumbled 23.83 percent to 156.37p.
The Guardian meanwhile quoted Joe Rundle, head of trading at ETX Capital, as commenting that “any sense of calm is very fragile and the situation could change rapidly”.
“High level of market volatility is expected over the coming days and weeks,” he added.
In individual movers, easyJet’s shares are currently 21.86 percent worse off at 1,026.00p after the low-cost airline warned on its third-quarter revenue and profit, blaming strike action in France, congestion issues at Gatwick airport and severe weather. The outcome of the referendum is further expected to pressure the group’s performance going forward.
Precious metals miners Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) and Fresnillo (LON:FRES) meanwhile continue to rally with investors looking for safe haven assets. Randgold’s share price has surged 8.14 percent to 7,970.00p, while shares in Fresnillo are changing hands 8.87 percent higher at 1,509.00p.
**The FTSE 100 was 1.87 percent down at 6,023.85 points as of 12:45 BST on Monday, June 27, 2016.**