London stocks fell on Monday, with caution setting in as investors eyed the release of the first batch of US data since the government shutdown and third-quarter results from US chipmaker Nvidia this week.
The FTSE 100 ended down 0.2% at 9,675.43, having fallen sharply on Friday on the back of Budget jitters, concerns about an AI bubble and growing doubts about a US rate cut in December. It was the worst one-day decline since 9 April, when markets were rattled by US President Donald Trump's tariff announcements.

Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said: "It's been a disappointing but predictably downbeat start to the week for markets as investors brace for a slew of economic data.

"The UK's inflation story is expected to look a little brighter when the latest CPI numbers are released, but investors just can't get excited about what has already happened when the real story is what might happen in next week's Budget.

"On Wall Street investors are braced for a potential double helping of bad news, with the delayed jobs figures due to be served up on Thursday just after Nvidia delivers what could be the most important AI update of the year.

"Just meeting expectation won't be enough - investors want the spectre of that AI bubble popping blown clean away. Nvidia will need to surprise on the upside and provide an update that leaves people in no doubt about the outlook for the sector.

"For the jobs data, those numbers need to come in at just the right temperature that even Goldilocks would be satisfied. Too good and any hope of a December rate cut has probably bitten the dust, too bad and nerves about how the US economy is holding up could unsettle already nervous investors."

On home shores, data from Rightmove showed that house prices fell in November as the spike in supply and mounting uncertainty around the Budget weighed heavily.

Average new seller asking prices fell 1.8%, a larger-than-usual decline for the time of year. It also reversed October's 0.3% uptick. Year-on-year, prices were 0.5% lower, leaving the national average asking price at £364,833.

Agreed sales in the year-to-date rose 4%.

The supply of houses coming to market - which had long lagged demand - has surged this year, giving buyers more power and depressing prices. However, the Budget was also proving a "distraction", Rightmove said.

It found sales agreed for homes priced at £2m and above had fallen sharply, down 13% year-on-year.

Speculation is rife that £2m-plus house sales could be subject to a new mansion tax, while other reports have mooted possible changes to stamp duty, which would affect homes sold for between £500,000 and £2m.

Rightmove's Collen Babcock said: "The Budget is a big distraction, and is later in the year than usual, with many would-be buyers waiting to see how their finances will be impacted.

"It appears the usual lull we'd see around Christmas time has arrived early this year, and sellers who are keen to move are having to work especially hard to entice buyers with competitive pricing."

In equity markets, advertising giant WPP rallied after The Times reported that it has attracted takeover interest from France's Havas and private equity firms Apollo and KKR ahead of its demotion from the FTSE 100.

Genuit tumbled as it downgraded its full-year earnings guidance, citing a moderation in market volumes since the first-half results, driven by purchasing uncertainty related to the upcoming Budget and current UK economic outlook.

Luxury fashion brand Burberry was under the cosh as the dispute between China and Japan over Taiwan escalated, with China telling its citizens not to travel to Japan. Burberry has significant exposure to China.

Danni Hewson said: "Fewer Chinese holidaymakers taking the opportunity to splash the cash in Japan will dent brands like check king Burberry."

Elsewhere, HICL Infrastructure and The Renewables Infrastructure Group said they had agreed a merger to create the UK's largest listed infrastructure investment company with net assets in excess of £5.3bn.

The combination will see the reconstruction and voluntary winding up of TRIG, with TRIG's assets transferred to HICL in exchange for the issue of new HICL shares and cash.

HICL shares slid but TRIG shot higher.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,675.43 -0.24%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,687.90 -0.60%
techMARK (TASX) 5,534.36 -0.14%

FTSE 100 - Risers

WPP (WPP) 320.10p 11.03%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 4,758.00p 2.63%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,159.00p 2.14%
3i Group (III) 3,399.00p 1.92%
Entain (ENT) 709.40p 1.28%
BT Group (BT.A) 178.70p 1.25%
SSE (SSE) 2,251.00p 1.08%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 16,250.00p 1.06%
Compass Group (CPG) 2,444.00p 0.95%
GSK (GSK) 1,799.50p 0.87%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,150.50p -6.62%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 78.98p -4.15%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 14,730.00p -3.28%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 343.20p -2.97%
Informa (INF) 908.80p -2.84%
Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 41.30p -2.71%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 239.20p -2.69%
Next (NXT) 13,820.00p -2.26%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,874.00p -2.22%
Croda International (CRDA) 2,762.00p -2.20%

FTSE 250 - Risers

PPHE Hotel Group Ltd (PPH) 1,888.00p 8.26%
The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited (TRIG) 76.00p 5.56%
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 373.20p 5.19%
Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 1,193.00p 4.56%
Foresight Environmental Infrastructure Limited (FGEN) 64.20p 3.72%
RS Group (RS1) 571.50p 2.60%
Ithaca Energy (ITH) 237.50p 1.93%
Oakley Capital Investments Limited (DI) (OCI) 568.00p 1.79%
VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 466.50p 1.63%
Clarkson (CKN) 3,595.00p 1.55%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Genuit Group (GEN) 306.00p -13.80%
HICL Infrastructure (HICL) 110.00p -6.62%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 217.80p -3.20%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 158.95p -3.08%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 3,202.00p -3.03%
Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 96.00p -2.88%
THG (THG) 43.74p -2.84%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 1,103.00p -2.65%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 316.50p -2.62%
Ibstock (IBST) 126.80p -2.61%