FTSE 100 retreats as sterling rallies

• FTSE 100 slides 25 points 
• Sterling’s strength saps enthusiasm for blue-chips
• Travel stocks friendless as government mulls international travel restrictions

London’s leading shares continued to languish in the red, with their performance not helped by the strength of sterling.

The FTSE 100 was off 25 points (0.4%) at 6,716, in contrast to the more UK-focused FTSE 250, which was up 15 points (0.1%) at 21,501.

Sterling is up by three-tenths of a cent against the dollar at US$1.3824, reversing an earlier fall of similar magnitude.

A strong sterling exchange rate is great news for those of us going on foreign holidays, of course, except that won’t be happening – except, maybe for Borish Johnson’s dad – for some time as the UK government is getting more antsy about the rising number of coronavirus cases on the continental mainland.

Rising COVID-19 infection rates in Europe meant there are “challenges” around reopening international travel, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said on Monday.

Today, further restrictions have been eased under the first part of England’s four-step roadmap plan. Six people (or two households) can now meet outdoors, organised outdoor sports can restart and travel outside the local area is now allowed.#GoSafeWithSani #RuleOfSix pic.twitter.com/SHHFsum3gq

— Sani Hands (@SaniHandsUK) March 29, 2021

Downing Street is mulling the possible introduction of a traffic lights system to categorise different countries by the length of the quarantine period necessary for travel, Dowden told Sky News.

Shares in easyjet () and British Airways owner IAG () were both down 2% while Carnival (), the cruise ships operator, was down 0.6%.

12.25pm: Indecisive morning session

London’s leading shares are mixed on what has been, as expected, a quiet day.

The FTSE 100 is down a point at 6,740.

In the US, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 is expected to open little changed but the Dow Jones is tipped to fall 109 points to 32,964 and the S&P 500 is expected to ease 11 points to 3,964.

“Banks are under pressure in Europe. dropped 10% after warning it could suffer a significant hit to profits as it starts to unwind positions after a hedge-backed [sic] client defaulted on a margin call. The forced unwinding of positions also hit Japanese bank Nomura, which tumbled 16%, in its biggest sell-off on record,” said OANDA’s Sophie Griffiths.

“Investors are bracing themselves for more volatility in the US when markets open after a USD20 billion fire sale on Friday, triggered by Archegos. The firm has concentrated holdings in and Baidu, whose shares have been under pressure in recent weeks. These developments certainly raise questions surrounding the rise of margin debt and over leveraging,” she added.

There is little in the way of macroeconomic data due out in the US; everything is just a warm-up act for Friday’s non-farm payrolls release.

Back in the UK, data on mortgage approavals for house purchases has been released, with the number falling for the third month in a row to a six-month low of 87,669, down from 97,350 in January.

On the plus side, as pointed out by Howard Archer, the chief economic adviser to the EY ITEM Club, February’s level was the sixth highest level since September 2007 as house buyers rush to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday.

In February 2021, there were 87,669 mortgage approvals in the UK, 9.9% lower than in January but still 19.5% higher than a year ago (pre-Covid-19). Note that February 2021’s mortgage approvals were the 3rd consecutive monthly fall… #ukhousing #housing https://t.co/HP6aoFAPEn pic.twitter.com/mDL4tiRXVr

— Noble Francis (@NobleFrancis) March 29, 2021

“February’s still-elevated level of mortgage approvals indicate that, while housing market activity had come off its late-2020 highs, it was…