FTSE inches up, Russia-exposed stocks tumble
Reuters
Published Apr 09, 2018 17:14
FTSE inches up, Russia-exposed stocks tumble
By Kit Rees
LONDON (Reuters) - Worries over global trade took a backseat as Britain's top share index advanced on Monday, though stocks with links to Russia fell on further U.S. sanctions.
The blue chip FTSE 100 (FTSE) index ended up 0.15 percent at 7,194.75 points, buoyed by financials and industrials, while the mid cap index (FTMC) fell 0.2 percent.
Last week global risk assets were hit by the prospect of a full-blown trade war after the United States and China threatened each other with tens of billions of dollars worth of tariffs.
Those fears eased after U.S. President Donald Trump predicted on Sunday there would be concessions from China.
But U.S. sanctions imposed on Friday on 24 Russian businessmen hit shares in Russia-exposed companies.
Russian steelmaker Evraz (L:EVRE) was a major faller, down 14 percent. Miner Glencore (L:GLEN) fell 3.4 percent while mid-cap Polymetal (L:POLYP) was down 18 percent.
Shares in Jersey-based EN+ Group (L:ENPLq), which manages the assets of Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, dropped 41.9 percent. Norilsk Nickel (L:NKELyq), in which Deripaska holds a stake, fell 18 percent.
"Glencore and the miners will definitely be (down) as a result of the Russian situation. If we see further escalations, we might look to go a little bit more bearish on these particular stocks in these particular sectors," Jasper Reimers, senior analyst at Vertex Capital Group, said.
"At this stage, there's no major concern."
Shares in Rolls Royce (L:RR) were among the biggest gainers, up 1.2 percent after the company agreed to sell parts maker L'Orange to U.S.-based engineering company Woodward Inc (O:WWD) for 700 million euros ($860 million) as part of a plan to simplify its business.
"As well as providing a healthy boost to the balance sheet, it suggests chief executive Warren East is not sitting on his hands despite reporting good progress on a transformation of the business at last month’s full-year results," Russ Mould, AJ Bell investment director, said in a note.
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