Trump jitters see £76bn wiped off FTSE 100 in worst week since January

Fears of a Donald Trump election victory have seen the FTSE 100 suffer its worst week since January, wiping £76bn off the value of its constituent companies.

A strengthening pound in recent days has also been a key factor.

London's leading index followed Asia sharply lower on Friday - extending losses from the four previous sessions.

Investors, fearing a Trump presidency could usher in major uncertainty and damage global trade, have been spooked by signs of a narrowing poll lead for Hillary Clinton, seen as a continuity candidate.

The negative sentiment saw the FTSE 100 close 97 points down at 6693 points to complete a gloomy week.

It leaves the index 303 points, or 4.3%, below its closing position last Friday - the worst weekly performance since the start of January.

In June, the FTSE saw steep declines in the wake of the Brexit vote but it quickly recovered from these and continued climbing to reach a record high last month.

That is largely because a slump in the pound since the referendum has proved positive for the valuation in pounds of the index's global firms.

The companies receive much of their earnings in dollars and euros, which are now worth a lot more than they were in sterling terms before the vote.

However the pound has staged a partial recovery over the past week, adding more than three cents to top the $1.25 mark.

Sterling saw a double boost on Thursday.

First (Other OTC: FSTC - news) , the Government's Brexit court defeat on Thursday raised the prospect of a delay in the UK's EU divorce proceedings or the watering down of its terms.

Next (Other OTC: NXGH - news) , the Bank of England's inflation report saw the prospect of any further interest rate cuts in the near-future fade away.

On Friday, market attention turned to US employment figures for October, which showed the world's largest economy created 161,000 jobs, though it did little to change the direction of shares.

While the jobs figure was slightly lower than expected, the employment report also highlighted a fall in the jobless rate to 4.9% and the sharpest increase in annual salaries for seven years.

That did little to change expectations that the US Federal Reserve will hike interest rates in the world's biggest economy next month, after opting earlier this week to leave them on hold pending the election.

World markets (Xetra: 4WM.DE - news) are on tenterhooks over the result but the FTSE 100 has fared worse than its European counterparts over the past few days because of the added factor of the pound's recovery.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG (LSE: IGG.L - news) , said: "The pullback from all-time highs has been remarkable, with a rising pound continuing to put even more pressure on UK markets.

"With (Other OTC: WWTH - news) the US election now just days away buyers are nowhere to be seen, since only the most foolhardy would be trying to buy the dip at present."

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