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London close: Stocks end up as banks, oil majors rally

By Michele Maatouk

Date: Sunday 24 Oct 2021

London close: Stocks end up as banks, oil majors rally

(Sharecast News) - London stocks ended higher on Monday as investors shrugged off concerns about China's tech crackdown, with banks and oil issues on the rise.
The FTSE 100 closed up 0.6% at 7,068.43.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "The FTSE 100 started the week with solid gains despite fresh turmoil in Asia as the Chinese crackdown on the tech sector showed little sign of ending.

"News that Beijing is looking to break up Ant Group's Alipay hit the wider Hang Seng index which was down more than 2% but UK investors seem to have decided this news has little relevance to them for now.

"It's hard to read the end-game as the regulatory pressure on Chinese firms continues to mount and this uncertainty is proving extremely damaging to the valuation of the likes of Alibaba and Tencent.

"Further setbacks could see sentiment towards this part of the market turn decidedly toxic."

In equity markets, Royal Mail was the standout gainer following news that the Post Office will begin handling packages for Amazon.

Rolls-Royce and Babcock were both up after agreeing to sell their stakes in in AirTanker Holdings Limited to Equitix Investment Management. Rolls-Royce is selling its 23.1% shareholding for £189m and Babcock its 15.4% share for £126m.

WH Smith advanced after US activist investor Causeway Capital - which has been demanding major change at Rolls-Royce - became the biggest shareholder in the retailer with a 9.05% stake. Causeway put out a statement insisting that it backed WH Smith's management.

Elsewhere, Shell and Tullow Oil gushed higher as oil prices rose.

Transport operator FirstGroup rallied after it said trading in the year to date has been in line and outlined plans to return £500m to investors.

On the downside, Primark owner Associated British Foods fell even as it raised its full-year profit outlook as weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter sales at Primark were offset by strong profit margins in the fashion business and a solid performance from its food and sugar divisions.

AB Foods said adjusted operating profit for its 2020-21 fiscal year, before repayment of job retention cash, would be marginally above last year excluding the benefit of a 53rd week this year. It had previously forecast it to be in line with the previous year's £1bn.

Shares of budget airline easyJet tumbled as they went ex-rights. A Telegraph report over the weekend suggested that EasyJet could be preparing to snap up British Airways' Gatwick landing slots if the UK's flag carrier fails to convince cabin crew to back sweeping short-haul cutbacks.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,068.43 0.56%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,775.73 0.18%
techMARK (TASX) 4,679.38 -0.40%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Royal Mail (RMG) 488.40p 3.23%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 43.77p 2.83%
National Grid (NG.) 959.70p 2.54%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 111.80p 2.40%
Aviva (AV.) 413.30p 2.38%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 699.40p 2.37%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,452.00p 2.34%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 450.20p 2.32%
BP (BP.) 302.30p 2.25%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,456.60p 2.23%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 621.60p -3.18%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,875.00p -2.55%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,923.50p -2.36%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,368.00p -2.32%
Rightmove (RMV) 731.60p -1.98%
Aveva Group (AVV) 3,959.00p -1.91%
Pearson (PSON) 739.60p -1.65%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,980.00p -1.54%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 2,224.00p -1.42%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 6,711.00p -1.31%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Tullow Oil (TLW) 43.37p 7.67%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,572.50p 4.35%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 354.40p 4.17%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 123.20p 4.05%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 386.60p 3.42%
Bellway (BWY) 3,527.00p 3.34%
Trainline (TRN) 378.00p 3.34%
FirstGroup (FGP) 89.25p 3.18%
Centrica (CNA) 51.20p 3.02%
Drax Group (DRX) 425.00p 2.96%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Civitas Social Housing (CSH) 93.60p -6.31%
Discoverie Group (DSCV) 1,196.00p -5.23%
IP Group (IPO) 140.40p -4.36%
Future (FUTR) 3,680.00p -3.92%
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 528.50p -3.82%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 1,387.00p -3.11%
Homeserve (HSV) 979.00p -2.88%
Coats Group (COA) 73.50p -2.78%
Computacenter (CCC) 2,894.00p -2.69%
Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 331.50p -2.64%

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