Investment accounts
Adult accounts
Child accounts
Choosing Fidelity
Choosing Fidelity
Why invest with us Current offers Fees and charges Open an account Transfer investments
Financial advice & support
Fidelity’s Services
Fidelity’s Services
Financial advice Retirement Wealth Management Investor Centre (London) Bereavement
Guidance and tools
Guidance and tools
Choosing investments Choosing accounts ISA calculator Retirement calculators
Share dealing
Choose your shares
Tools and information
Tools and information
Share prices and markets Chart and compare shares Stock market news Shareholder perks
Pensions & retirement
Pensions, tax & tools
Saving for retirement
Approaching / In retirement
Approaching / In retirement
Speak to a specialist Creating a retirement plan Taking tax-free cash Pension drawdown Annuities Investing in retirement Investment Pathways
London midday: Stocks drift lower with China still in focus
(Sharecast News) - London stocks edged lower on Thursday as investors continued to fret about surging Covid cases in China and Beijing's decision to lift travel bans. The FTSE 100 index was 0.21% lower to 7,481.09 and the second-tier index down by 0.37% to 18,815.38.
"Most FTSE 100 stocks are in the red with only a handful of names including Homeserve and United Utilities in the green as risk-off sentiment grips global markets as we head towards the end of the year," said Interactive Investor head of Investment Victoria Scholar.
Markets in Asia came under pressure overnight with Hong Kong's Hang Seng down more than 1% amid concerns about the impact of covid on demand in China. This is also dragging oil prices into the red with brent crude down by almost 1%."
US officials overnight joined other countries in demanding negative Covid tests from all travellers arriving from mainland China. Britain, which failed to move quickly enough more than two years ago to impose restrictions, once again said it had no plans to require negative tests.
Beijing has announced a dismantling of its strict zero-Covid policy which had led to protests across the country over its impact on the economy. On Monday, the country said it would bring an end to mandatory quarantine on arrival, leading to a spike in travel plans by citizens.
Japan, Taiwan, Italy, Malaysia and South Korea have all announced to deal with an expected influx of travellers from China.
Officials in Washington expressed concerns over virus-related data released by the Chinese government.
With the New Year holiday approaching there was understandably a dearth of major corporate news.
The only development of note was the detention on France of Ferrexpo owner Kostyantin Zhevago at the request of Ukrainian authorities over matters related to on suspicion of money laundering and embezzling funds linked to his banking business.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,481.26 -0.21% FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,815.06 -0.37% techMARK (TASX) 4,383.64 -0.23%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 698.00p 1.16% Beazley (BEZ) 684.50p 0.96% Entain (ENT) 1,317.00p 0.61% Melrose Industries (MRO) 133.50p 0.60% Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 2,895.00p 0.52% Airtel Africa (AAF) 111.50p 0.45% Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,841.00p 0.40% AstraZeneca (AZN) 11,290.00p 0.36% Standard Chartered (STAN) 631.40p 0.35% Prudential (PRU) 1,126.50p 0.27%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 123.98p -1.77% Frasers Group (FRAS) 709.50p -1.60% BT Group (BT.A) 113.60p -1.39% Whitbread (WTB) 2,587.00p -1.33% Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,565.50p -1.32% B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 405.10p -1.24% Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 847.20p -1.24% Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 10,630.00p -1.21% Unite Group (UTG) 900.00p -1.10% Persimmon (PSN) 1,244.50p -1.07%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Apax Global Alpha Limited (APAX) 188.60p 2.39% Abrdn Private Equity Opportunities Trust (APEO) 445.00p 2.30% Helios Towers (HTWS) 103.10p 2.28% TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 131.80p 1.85% TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 2,265.00p 1.80% Wood Group (John) (WG.) 136.95p 1.67% HarbourVest Global Private Equity Limited A Shs (HVPE) 2,240.00p 1.36% Darktrace (DARK) 259.00p 1.25% RIT Capital Partners (RCP) 2,120.00p 1.19% Moonpig Group (MOON) 109.70p 1.11%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 69.00p -3.97% ASOS (ASC) 488.20p -3.13% Currys (CURY) 54.25p -2.95% easyJet (EZJ) 323.40p -2.82% Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,950.50p -2.45% Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 426.00p -2.38% Schroder Asia Pacific Fund (SDP) 499.00p -2.35% PZ Cussons (PZC) 211.50p -2.31% Ferrexpo (FXPO) 161.00p -2.13% C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 177.70p -1.99%
Share this article
Related Sharecast Articles
Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.
Award-winning online share dealing
Search, compare and select from thousands of shares.
Expert insights into investing your money
Our team of experts explore the world of share dealing.
Policies and important information
Accessibility | Conflicts of interest statement | Consumer Duty Target Market | Consumer Duty Value Assessment Statement | Cookie policy | Diversity and Inclusion | Doing Business with Fidelity | Fidelity gender pay report | Investing in Fidelity funds | Legal information | Modern slavery | Mutual respect policy | Privacy statement | Remuneration policy | Security | Statutory and Regulatory disclosures | Whistleblowing policy
Please remember that past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance, the performance of investments is not guaranteed, and the value of your investments can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest. When investments have particular tax features, these will depend on your personal circumstances and tax rules may change in the future. This website does not contain any personal recommendations for a particular course of action, service or product. You should regularly review your investment objectives and choices and, if you are unsure whether an investment is suitable for you, you should contact an authorised financial adviser. Before opening an account, please read the ‘Doing Business with Fidelity’ document which incorporates our client terms. Prior to investing into a fund, please read the relevant key information document which contains important information about the fund.
This website is issued by Financial Administration Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (FCA Register number 122169) and registered in England and Wales under company number 1629709 whose registered address is Beech Gate, Millfield Lane, Lower Kingswood, Tadworth, Surrey, KT20 6RP.