10:36
The oil price has also dropped today.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, is down 2.5% at $39.89 per barrel – moving back towards the four-month lows seen at the end of October.
But as you can see here, oil had rallied sharply since the start of the week:
US election jitters, and anxiety over the Covid-19 pandemic, are weighing on the oil market today, reports Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at axi.
Oil is down due to lingering election uncertainty, and continued worries about spiking coronavirus infections in the US and Europe weigh on sentiment.
But, the possibility of the Opec group extending their current supply cuts for longer is providing some support, Innes adds.
The new lockdowns in several European countries are bound to hit energy demand – as shown by easyJet’s latest flight cuts.
10:10
European stock markets are dropping a little lower now, with the UK’s FTSE 100 now down 43 points or 0.7% today (but still up strongly since Monday).
After a very strong week, the strong post-election rally does seem to be fading… just as Joe Biden takes the lead in Georgia as the counting continues.
Alex Kuptsikevich, senior market analyst at FxPro, suggests there is some ‘end of the week profit-taking’, as investors look ahead:
Firstly, the results of the presidential election are yet to be finalised and are likely to be disputed. Secondly, there is a real risk that a divided Congress will argue for too long about a new relief package that has already been delayed since July.
09:46