The FTSE 100 is up by 0.19% to 7,031.29 on Monday morning in a positive start to the week for the index.
“The FTSE 100 made sedate progress on Monday morning although you would imagine investors would take that after something of a wild ride last week driven by inflation fears and a bitcoin crash,” says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
The cryptocurrency added further losses over the weekend, before a modest recovery, as China continued its crackdown.
“The cryptocurrency remains more up and down than a yo-yo, enduring further heavy losses over the weekend before staging a modest recovery amid a crackdown in China.
The UK’s flagship index traded higher despite miners’ share prices being pulled down by falling iron ore prices as Chinese authorities warn of excessive speculation.
“Observers will be asking if this is the week the FTSE 100 finally pushes ahead of the 7,000 mark after a period of going backwards and forwards around this level,” Mould added.
“A second estimate of US GDP on Wednesday may provide some direction, in addition to consumer confidence and price data which should help show whether the world’s largest economy is simmering nicely or is in danger of bubbling over.”
“After recent evidence of rapidly rising prices in the UK, there is likely to be considerable attention on Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and his colleagues when they appear before MPs to testify later.”
FTSE 100 Top Movers
Flutter Entertainment (2.01%), Compass Group (1.61%) and Vodafone Group (1.38%) are the top risers midway through the morning session on Monday.
At the other end, Fresnillo (-2.93%), Antofagasta (-1.59%) and Barratt Developments (-1.44%) have lost the most ground.
Cineworld
Cineworld praised a “strong” opening weekend across the country and anticipates a continued recovery after cinemas were forced to close down for months due to the pandemic.
The cinema group said that Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway was to thank for its opening weekend success as families flocked to cinemas in droves.
Cineworld said that its performance over the weekend surpassed its own expectations as “customers were eager to return to the movies and enjoy the full movie experience”.
