FTSE 100 Suffers Biggest Drop Since 2020 Amid Market Turmoil

The UK’s leading stock index experienced its sharpest daily decline in over five years, following a turbulent trading session that saw heavy losses across some of Britain’s largest companies.

The FTSE 100 ended the day down 4.86%, a drop not witnessed since the market chaos of March 2020. The fall surpassed previous sell-offs triggered by major global events, including the onset of the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the announcement of the Omicron variant.

The losses deepened this afternoon after China revealed retaliatory tariffs against the United States, further rattling investor confidence.

Banks bore the brunt of the downturn, with major players like Barclays and NatWest suffering significant declines. On the other hand, utilities companies such as SSE and National Grid emerged as rare bright spots in an otherwise bleak trading day.

For context, the worst single-day drop for the FTSE 100 this century occurred on 12 March 2020, just as the UK prepared to enter its first Covid-19 lockdown, when the index plunged 10.8%.