United Kingdom: FTSE 100 Suffers Worst Day since April.

The FTSE 100 fell 1.1% on Friday, marking its worst daily drop since April and nearly wiping out weekly gains, as UK gilt yields rose and the pound weakened amid reports that Chancellor Rachel Reeves may abandon planned income-tax hikes in the November 26 budget. Concerns over the UK’s fiscal outlook prompted money markets to scale back expectations for Bank of England rate cuts to under 60 bps by the end of 2025. Banks led declines, with NatWest down 3.5%, Barclays 3.1%, Lloyds and Standard Chartered over 2%, and HSBC down 1.5%. Other major stocks also fell, including Unilever, Rolls-Royce, and British American Tobacco, which dropped between 1.4% and 1.9%.