London's FTSE 100 touched a fresh high on Wednesday morning as strong corporate results pulled money in while investors backed out of tech and semiconductor stocks. Its weighting towards finance and energy left the index largely untouched by a sell-off that dragged Seoul and Tokyo lower for a second day. Brent crude, meanwhile, pushed closer to $90 a barrel.
The UK's blue chip index rose as high as 10,951 points on Wednesday morning before falling back slightly. Strong corporate results drove the climb as investors moved money away from tech and semiconductor stocks.
Finance and energy weighting shields the index
Heavily weighted towards the finance and energy sectors, the FTSE 100 has been largely shielded from the sell-off in tech stocks that has rattled other global markets, particularly in Asia and New York. Wednesday's peak was the index's best level since 27 February, the day before the US and Israel began attacks on Iran. Those attacks sparked stock market volatility.
Standard Chartered and the miner Rio Tinto both announced a rise in shareholder payouts on Wednesday. According to AJ Bell's investment director Russ Mould, the index was "helped by its lack of exposure to technology and AI stocks".
Chip earnings send Seoul and Tokyo lower
Shares in companies linked to AI plunged for the second day in a row over concerns about spending on the technology. Seoul's Kospi, dominated by semiconductor manufacturers, closed down 6% after falling almost 11% the previous day, reaching its lowest level since early April.
SK Hynix reported record profits for Q2 but undershot investors' expectations, and its shares fell as much as 20% before recovering to 10% down. Samsung Electronics closed 5% lower. Together the two chipmakers account for more than half of the Kospi's market capitalisation.
Japan's Nikkei also closed 1.5% down on Wednesday, a two-month low. Trading in Seoul was halted for 20 minutes for the second consecutive session after an 8% plunge triggered a market-wide circuit breaker.
Brent crude pushes towards $90
Oil kept climbing after the US military said it had knocked down an Iranian missile barrage and worked with Saudi Arabia's forces to strike sites in Iraq that Tehran-backed militias had recently used to launch attacks. Brent crude reached $89.47 during afternoon trading in London, a rise of more than 6%.
Source: The Guardian
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