London View

Fluctuating FTSE, Hang Seng Drops, Microsoft in Talks to Acquire Minecraft Creator

The FTSE has been fluctuating this morning, with recent polls suggesting that an independent Scotland is now a real possibility. With the nationalist and unionist campaigns neck and neck ahead of next week’s referendum, financial questions are being raised which are proving hard for the markets to side-step; what, for example, will happen to UK GDP growth forecasts should Scotland secede? How many Scottish-based firms will choose to move south of the (new) border? Questions such as these will be moot if the results of next Thursday’s poll keep Scotland in the Union, but until then the markets are in limbo, with the referendum too close to call. The FTSE was down by 0.4% earlier, but is currently trading up by 0.13%, buoyed slightly as the three main UK party leaders make a concentrated effort today to plead the case for the union with Scottish voters.

The Asian session saw the Hang Seng close lower this morning after a vicious economic news cycle dealt a triple blow to key stocks. A decline in Chinese homesales, Apple’s slump after last night’s product launch and reports of a fall in casino income in nearby Macau all hit companies in the Honk-Kong based index, leading it to close almost 2% down.

In stocks news, Lufthansa was hit heavily yesterday as  pilots union Vereinigung Cockpit went on strike for the third time in two weeks. The airline has had to cancel over 100 flights out of Munich today, with shares closing down by 1.5% on Tuesday.

Meanwhile in the US Microsoft is joining the tech takeover frenzy, with  reports that the US giant is discussing the possibility of purchasing Mojang AB, the Swedish firm behind the wildly successful Minecraft game. Microsoft shares were up by 0.62% yesterday, to a level of 46.76.