European markets lower after poor trading in Asia

LONDON’S markets finished lower yesterday after shaky Asian markets, driven by warnings over the economic impact of Chinese lockdowns, provided a downbeat backdrop to the start of trading.

Sentiment steadily improved but was not enough for a complete U-turn in performance as European banks finished broadly lower. The FTSE 100 ended the day down 41.65 points, or 0.55%, at 7,576.66 points.

Chris Beauchamp, market analyst at IG, said: “Led by AstraZeneca and Rolls-Royce, the FTSE 100 is declining for a second consecutive day, for the first time in a month.

“The bounce from the March lows has carried the index back to the February highs, but a short-term pause now looks likely.

“But even so, with inflation carrying prices higher and yields still moving up in the months to come, the index seems wellplaced for further gains that will take it to new highs for the year.”

Wall Street traders were in positive spirits at the start of US trading as the inflation reading of 8.5% for last month represented a significant rise but was below what some analysts feared. The rally in the US markets after recent losses helped reduce falls across Europe, including in London, but still was not enough to bring any markets back into the green.

A poor session for Deutsche Bank helped keep the main German index in negative territory. The Cac was down 0.28% and the German Dax decreased 0.48% by the end of the session.

The pound continued its recent poor spell to drop by 0.02% against the dollar to 1.303, but rose 0.13% against the euro to 1.200.

In company news, EasyJet saw shares take flight after it told shareholders it expects to operate “near” pre-pandemic levels of flying this summer. It operated at 80% of 2019 capacity in the first three months of this year, the company reported. Shares closed 9.8p higher at 552.4p after it confirmed it expects to make a loss before tax in the range of £535 million to £565 million for the six months to the end of March.

Asos also move higher despite posting a £15.8 million pre-tax loss for the six months to the end of February. Investors were nonetheless optimistic after bosses said they were hopeful that sales growth will accelerate this year, highlighting improvements in stock levels. Shares finished 74p higher at 1,612p.

Deliveroo shares drifted after it confirmed that customers were spending less per order although transaction values for the latest quarter were still 11% higher year-on-year. The takeaway delivery specialist saw shares decline 1.2p to 108.25p.

The price of oil had a strong rebound after slipping to a three-week low on Monday. Brent crude increased by 6.9% to 105.28 US dollars per barrel when the London markets closed.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Endeavour Mining, up 79p to 2,064p, Airtel Africa, up 3.6p to 147.8p, BP, up 9.3p to 395.95p, Fresnillo, up 18p to 799.8p, and JD Sports, up 3.15p to 336.6p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Rolls-Royce, down 5p to 89.79p, Land Securities, down 36p to 750p, Ocado, down 54p to 1,184.5p, British Land, down 21p to 512.2p, and AstraZeneca, down 354p to 10,504p.