The FTSE 100 was up 0.2% to 7,585.4 at close of trading on Friday, as Asia-centred stocks benefited from a rally on the Hang Seng, which was up 2.8% to 20,697.3.
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust shares gained 6.1% to 791.8p, following a rebound in portfolio holdings Tencent, Meituan and Alibaba.
“Better than expected updates from Alibaba and Baidu helped drive a rally in Asian shares, with investors also likely to have been pleased by the rally in US markets yesterday,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
Burberry shares increased 2.2% to 1,678p as consumer optimism picked up in China, the fashion brand’s largest market, with Asia-focused insurer Prudential rising 2.3% to 1,030p.
Meanwhile, energy and utilities groups fell on Rishi Sunak’s 25% targeted profit levy on skyrocketing income reaped by the oil giants, which is set to provide approximately £5 billion in a move to help the most vulnerable households in the UK as the cost of living spikes.
The Chancellor announced tax relief for oil and gas companies on the premise that they commit to accelerated oil and gas extraction, yet it appears the energy majors are dropping investment plans like a hot potato.
“Rishi Sunak’s promise of greater tax relief for UK oil and gas investments hasn’t been the carrot he hoped the oil industry would follow,” said Mould.
“News that BP is reviewing its £18 billion of planned investments in the North Sea is a U-turn from previous comments by the company which said a windfall tax wouldn’t change its plans.”
“There are plenty of places in the world for companies like BP to drill, so when one jurisdiction becomes heavy with tax it’s potentially time to up sticks and look elsewhere for future supplies.”
Harbour Energy shares fell 10.8% to 381.9p, BP slid 0.9% to 431.1p and Shell dipped 0.9% to 2,382p as the energy firms.
Utilities shares fell in line with the trend, with SSE dropping 1.7% to 1,749p, National Grid falling 1.9% to 1,163p, and Severn Trent dipping 0.7% to 2,919p.
