The latest from London: The return of lockdowns rattles markets

The LSE ended on a high on Friday following the announcements of new measures from central banks to curb inflation. The FTSE 100 was up 0.1% on Friday, but down 0.3% for the week. However, the blue-chip index tumbled by 1.8% this morning, trailing a weak session in Asia, hampered by the surge of Omicron globally and the announcement of lockdowns in Europe.

According to several media reports,  the UK’s chief scientific adviser told MP’s that additional Covid-19 restrictions should be introduced as soon as possible to prevent overcrowding the NHS.

Oil prices fell, which impacted oil majors such as BP and Royal Dutch Shell. The travel and leisure sector also took a big hit.

Meanwhile, Standard Chartered dropped 1.9% after it received a £46.5 million fine from the Bank of England for accounting errors.

 

Things to read today:

Financial Regulators likely to agree Crypto framework in 2022 (Financial Times)

Omicron Fears Ignite Market Selloff as Traders Clear Books (Bloomberg)

Tesla is not as cool as it used to be (The Information)