FTSE 100 set to stand firm after Year of Rat starts with a wholesale sell-off for Chinese traders

The FTSE 100 is expected to stand firm in the face of the sharp falls seen in China, where markets reopened after the lunar New Year.

Coronavirus fears knocked the Shanghai Composite 8% lower; however, the price action elsewhere in Asia was more muted.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng reversed its early losses to trade sideways, while the markets of Japan and Korea were each down around 1%.

After Britain finally exited the EU at 11pm on Friday, Boris Johnson and his European counterparts now have 11 months to figure out what their future relationship will look like.

Johnson will use a speech in London to assert that the UK will not be rule takers from Brussels ahead of negotiations over a Canada-style trade deal.

In his speech, the PM will say: “We have often been told that we must choose between full access to the EU market, along with accepting its rules and courts on the Norway model, or an ambitious free trade agreement, which opens up markets and avoids the full panoply of EU regulation, on the example of Canada.

“We have made our choice – we want a free trade agreement, similar to Canada’s but in the very unlikely event that we do not succeed, then our trade will have to be based on our existing Withdrawal Agreement with the EU.”

Looking ahead, we have scheduled news this week from GlaxoSmithKline (), BP () and Royal Mail ().

Around the markets: Pound US$1.3162 (down 0.33%); gold down US$3.40 at US$1,584.50 an ounce; Brent crude off 34 cents a barrel at US$56.28

Monday’s news

Finals: PLC ()

Trading announcements: ()

Economic data: UK manufacturing PMI, US manufacturing PMI

Business Headlines 

Financial Times

• Nissan drafts plan to double down on UK under hard Brexit
• UK and EU begin sparring with bruising talks ahead
• freezes investment bank bonus pool

Times

• China pumps in £130bn to calm markets
• South Western Railway faces losing franchise if new bid falls short
• HS2 landed with £500m VAT demand

Telegraph

• espionage scandal deepens as report suggests bank spied on Greenpeace

Guardian

• UK productivity slowdown worst since Industrial Revolution – study
• Car industry could see price war on hybrid vehicles in 2020
• Ofgem sets out nine-point plan to prioritise climate crisis