HSBC props up the FTSE

A bounce for HSBC has been the main reason for strength in the FTSE 100 this morning, as the general rally in risk sentiment pauses for breath.

• FTSE climbs as Asian assets find buyers

• UK shoppers stay indoors in March

• WPP boosted by good news from rival

While US markets may have failed to clock up steady gains last night, the strong showing in Asian markets off the back of hopes of North Korea/US talks allowed European markets to hold their ground this morning. In the UK, a strong move by HSBC, no doubt benefiting from the good performance of Asian assets overnight, has added 8 points to the FTSE 100, accounting for the lion’s share of gains for the index, although another drop in sterling has also allowed the index to keep one step ahead of its continental peers. Oil remains in high demand too, with Brent touching a new multi-year high, and as a result BP and Shell continue to see positive investor attention. Cold weather continued to
wreak havoc with UK retail sales, with the March reading down 1.2%. Markets are now on alert for another disappointing read on UK GDP for Q1, so we will all have to hope that the recent outbreak of warm weather will lead to a boost for high street footfall in the next month’s reading.

Also on the up this morning was ad group WPP, which is facing an uncertain future after the departure of Sir Martin Sorrell. Fears about a further weakening of the ad market were allayed somewhat as rival Publicis unveiled a good start to 2018. While Publicis will be happy to claim that WPP’s succession travails are none of its concern, as the race to secure market share hots up once again it doesn’t hurt to have your main competitor mired in introverted discussions over leadership.

Ahead of the open, we expect the Dow to start at 24,757, up 9 points from last night’s close.