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Important information: The value of investments can go down as well as up so you may get back less than you invest. Investors should note that the views expressed may no longer be current and may have already been acted upon. This is a third-party news feed and may not reflect Fidelity’s views.

London pre-open: Shares seen lower as China Covid surge weighs

(Sharecast News) - London stocks are set to open lower on Thursday as investors fretted about surging Covid cases in China and Beijing's decision to lift travel bans. The FTSE 100 index is seen to be 0.39% lower at 7467.5 points.

US officials overnight joined other countries in demanding negative Covid tests from all travellers arriving from mainland China.

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.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com

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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.

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