FTSE 100 Live: London stocks stall as Wall Street tech sells off

FTSE 100 closed slightly lower as London stocks stalled, ending the day down 9 points at 10,428, even as some sectors stabilized. A sharp selloff in US and Asian big tech weighed on global sentiment, with SpaceX shares falling 16% after the company launched a $20 billion bond sale, dragging technology. IG’s technical analyst Axel Rudolph said the move marked one of the most dramatic reversals for a newly listed mega-cap stock, contributing to broader pressure on the tech sector, while the South Korean Kospi finished down 10% and the Nasdaq 100 fell another 2.5% with the weekly rout continuing. In London, defensives helped the index recover into positive territory later in the session, with Bunzl up 5.4% and a group of consumer-facing names higher. Short-selling data highlighted Ibstock as the most shorted FTSE stock at 24.8% of shares on loan. Elsewhere, European markets slipped and UK “flash” PMI was worse than expected for June.