The FTSE 100 shrugged off concerns around Chinese and Asian shares on Monday as Londons-leading index moved back towards the 7,100 level.
The FTSE 10O was trading at 7,083 shortly before midday on Monday, up 54 points or 0.7%.
The gains were broad with Royal Mail leading the gains. UK-focused financials and house builders among the top risers.
“There was a dose of Monday motivation for the FTSE 100, which opened up 0.6% with house builders leading the upwards drift, as the red hot housing market shows little sign of cooling,” said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.
Chinese Tech
The FTSE 100 gained despite volatility in Asia markets following a report by the Financial Times that Chinese authorities were planning to dismantle Ant group’s Alipay.
“The FTSE 100 started the week with solid gains despite fresh turmoil in Asia as the Chinese crackdown on the tech sector showed little sign of ending,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
“News that Beijing is looking to break up Ant Group’s Alipay hit the wider Hang Seng index which was down more than 2% but UK investors seem to have decided this news has little relevance to them for now.
“It’s hard to read the end-game as the regulatory pressure on Chinese firms continues to mount and this uncertainty is proving extremely damaging to the valuation of the likes of Alibaba and Tencent.
“Further setbacks could see sentiment towards this part of the market turn decidedly toxic.”
AB Foods
Associated British Foods was the FTSE 100’s biggest faller after the group unveiled the impact of a summer of uncertainty related to COVID-19.
AB Foods owns retailer Primark and had previously been upbeat on the economic reopening and potential demand for fast fashion.
“It’s not easy being a retail business and the impact of Covid-19 is still being felt as events continue to disrupt trading,” said Mould.
“Even though lockdown measures are now (hopefully) a thing of the past, Associated British Foods-owned Primark still saw volatile trading over the summer because of people being told to self-isolate. There remains a real risk of further disruption if there is an autumn flare-up of Covid as more people interact in society and the Delta variant still rages.