London has reclaimed its title as Europe’s biggest stock market after Paris but was forced to suspend trading in smaller shares yesterday due to technical problems.
The combined market capitalization of London-listed companies is now $2,888.4bn (£2,373bn), compared with $2,887.5bn in Paris, according to an index compiled by Bloomberg.
London’s value has been boosted by rising oil prices and companies such as Shell and BP.
The fate of Paris was affected by the economic downturn in China. Shares of luxury companies such as LVMH, L’Oréal, Hermès and Kering fell due to falling demand from Chinese consumers.
London lost its status as Europe’s largest stock market last November as demand for luxury goods soared in the wake of the pandemic and French stock market valuations soared.
Critics of Brexit said the loss of the title was further evidence that leaving the European Union was smart. Its reputation was further damaged when large companies such as computer chip designer Arm plc decided to list in New York, while other companies decided to delist from London and move to the US.
The London Stock Exchange (LSEG) lost some of its newfound luster when a systemic incident halted trading in hundreds of shares.
The incident hit shares of smaller companies including online fashion group Asos, pollster YouGov, food delivery service Deliveroo, drinks group FeverTree and Metro Bank, but forced an early halt to trading.
LSEG said it was investigating the incident and that only the FTSE 100, FTSE 250 and International Order Book indices, which cover a range of international shares, were available for trading.
The FTSE 100 index closed down 1.17 percent for the day. It said the affected shares will close at halted prices.
“[The incident] “As investors gain attention, people will want quick answers to current events to maintain confidence,” said Fiona Cincotta, market analyst at City Index.
“The sooner we get news about the cause of the incident, the faster the market can move forward,” she said. “We may see some volatility at the open.”
In 2019, the London Stock Exchange suffered a nearly two-hour outage that affected FTSE 100 and mid-cap stocks, which LSEG said was due to a “technical software issue.” The company also experienced an outage in 2021 that shut down some of its services for five hours.
The incident occurred on a busy day during corporate earnings season. LSEG’s own FTSE 100-listed shares traded regularly and closed 1.88 per cent higher.
Source: I News
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