UK investors turn to defensive stocks

The bond selloff continued yesterday, following hawkish comments from Fed officials, who signaled that a 0.5% rate hike was on the cards for May, along with reduction in the central bank’s balance sheet. Tech stocks suffered, with the Nasdaq shedding more than 2% overnight.

This morning, the FTSE 100 was down 0.4%, hampered by industrial and consumer cyclical companies, as investors turned to defensive stocks.

Oil major Shell fell after it warned of a bigger write-down than previously mentioned, which could reach $5 billion, due to its decision to exit Russia.

Meanwhile, homebuilders dipped 1.6% after mortgage lender Halifax reported a 1.4% monthly rise in the average house price to £282,753.

One of the best performances today on the LSE is 888 Holdings, which soared 23.6% after the gambling company and U.S.-based Caesars Entertainment wrote down the transaction value of William Hill's non-U.S. assets, citing difficult economic conditions and regulatory investigations.

 

Things to read today:

Russia to make dollar bond payments in roubles after US blockade (Financial Times)

How to stop China and the US going to war (The Guardian)

U.K. Freezes Sberbank Assets in Fresh Round of Russia Sanctions (Bloomberg)