Sector movers: Stocks exhibit resilience despite geopolitical risks

Stocks extended their positive start to the second quarter, with investors apparently taking talk of further sanctions against Russia in their stride.

"Q2 has got off to a good start, continuing the rebound that began in the final month of Q1. The issues that dogged markets of throughout the end of 2021 and into 2022 remain with us, but once again stocks have demonstrated their remarkable ability to come storming back," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.

"Even fresh sanctions talk does not appear to be having much of an effect, as the market learns to look past the immediate hit to earnings."

Beauchamp also cited the strong US non-farm payrolls report published during the prior session as another factor behind the resilience in share prices.

In a similar vein, in a research note sent to clients, strategists at J.P.Morgan emphasised how economic activity momentum had also been resilient - accelerating even - going into the current exogenous geopolitical shock.

J.P.Morgan's Mislav Matejka specifically noted how labour markets remained "very supportive", while the headwind from Covid-19 in developed markets was ending and China's policy stance had changed for the better.

Against that backdrop, it was homebuilders' shares that paced gains at the start of the week, amid news that the government might drop a demand for them to contribute towards a £4bn cladding remediation fund.

Geopolitical tensions were not lost on investors in the Precious Metals and Mining sector.

As an aside, analysts at Citi noted that April tended to be one of the weakest calendar months for purchases of gold ETFs, although robust buying tended to follow in May and June.

They also commented that their short-term indicator was giving neutral readings for gold with a view to its price momentum in the first half of April.

Top performing sectors so far today

Household Goods & Home Construction 13,480.82 +2.83%

Precious Metals and Mining 11,224.51 +2.10%

Real Estate Investment & Services 2,800.33 +2.07%

Leisure Goods 18,594.07 +1.84%

Retailers 2,850.68 +1.82%

Bottom performing sectors so far today

Medical Equipment and Services 8,770.20 -0.91%

Real Estate Investment Trusts 3,329.59 -0.79%

Banks 3,196.88 -0.78%

Industrial Metals & Mining 8,123.66 -0.75%

Non-life Insurance 3,023.96 -0.43%