China’s latest regulatory crackdown filtered through to the London market on Tuesday after internet giants including Alibaba suffered big overnight share price falls in Asia.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dived 3% amid fears the food delivery arms of Alibaba and Meituan will be affected by regulations guaranteeing workers above minimum pay.
The Asia sell-off contributed to a jittery session in London, with the FTSE 100 index down 1% as traders also looked to the latest US Federal Reserve meeting, when policymakers will discuss their plans for the tapering of economic support.
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust was among London’s leading casualties, falling 2% or 25.5p to 1,310p to reflect its ownership of stakes in Alibaba, Meituan and internet giant Tencent, which fell overnight after being told to relinquish its exclusive music label rights.
Asia-focused insurer Prudential fell 31.5p to 1,335p and a clutch of miners including Glencore and Rio Tinto were down by 2%.
The FTSE 100 index was 55.17 points lower at 6,969.40, with one of the few bright spots coming from Croda International after the speciality chemicals firm reported a 50% jump in half-year profits to a new record.
It has been boosted by its life sciences arm supplying components for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, a development described recently by chief executive Steve Foots as his proudest moment in 30 years with the East Yorkshire-based company.
A strong performance in fragrances and personal care also means profits this year will be significantly ahead of City expectations, sending shares to a record 8,148p after jumping 322p or 4%.
Croda declared a 10% higher dividend to 43.5p as it maintains an unbroken record of increasing returns for 30 years.
