The FTSE 100 traded in a tight range on Monday as weakness in gambling companies and miners offset gains in utility and pharmaceutical stocks.
Undulating between negative and positive territory, London’s leading index traded in a 30 point range for most of the session.
“Stocks are largely set to tread water at the start of the week as investors look for a sense of direction as US earnings season builds, and the latest stimulus plan from China comes under scrutiny,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown.
Mining companies were prominent in the top fallers as the China stimulus trade softened overnight and hit the high beta sector. Antofagasta, Glencore and Fresnillo all found themselves at the bottom of the leaderboard with losses between 2.1%-3.2%.
The biggest faller was gambling company Entain who tumbled 7% on fear Labour would target the gambling industry as part of their tax raid in the Budget.
“Several names in the gambling space were underwater on speculation Labour is considering plans to double taxation on online casinos and bookies in the upcoming Budget,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
“Labour is desperately looking for ways to raise revenue, having ruled out increasing taxes on ‘working people’. It’s notable that the speculation suggests so-called ‘lower harm’ activities like bingo and the lottery will be untouched by any tax changes.
“The betting industry will argue higher taxes could lead to an increase in illegal black-market gambling and ultimately firms may well pass on any extra costs they incur to punters, potentially doing more harm.
“Today’s news is a salient reminder of the strengthening headwinds the sector faces in terms of regulation and tax and that this remains a live risk for investors to consider.”
Vistry was the top gainer as the house building company started a slow recovery of the losses sustained after announcing cost miscalculations that recently sent shares into free fall. Vistry was 3% higher.
Strength in utility companies SSE, Severn Trent, and United Utilities suggested investors were leaning towards lower risk companies amid the ongoing macro uncertainty.