The prospect of flush Chinese buyers snapping up UK-listed stocks, helped the FTSE 100 pare some of its losses for a few moments of respite this morning.
The boost was short-lived but the announcement certainly lifted spirits for some time at least. China and Britain have agreed that Chinese banks can invest in UK stocks and mutual funds, according to the China Banking Regulatory Commission.
The FTSE 100 remained deep in the red after the news but did come off its lows. It is now back down 1.6% at 6,296.9.
Aside from the retailers, the other consumer-facing story this morning concerns the housebuilders. As pessimism persists over property prices, Barratt is down 26.5p, or 5.7%, to 445.5p and Taylor Wimpey is not far behind, down 8.4p, or 4.1%, to 198.6p.
One riser worth mentioning is Carnival. The cruise operator reports fourth-quarter results on Thursday and analysts at Collins Stewart says in a preview note that they are "confident that Q4 guidance will be achieved". They flag up previous reports of strong forward bookings and have a "buy" recommendation on the shares with a target prices of £28.61.
"Whilst its exposures to the oil price and consumer-discretionary spend are likely to remain out of favour in the near term, there is no doubting that Carnival is fundamentally cheap," says Collins Stewart analyst Andrew Fitchie.
Talking of Collins Stewart, the broker's shares are down 6.75p at 173.75p after Japan's Nomura denied a weekend report it was in talks to acquire the British company. There are thought to have been very preliminary talks between the two but the market seems to be taking Nomura's denial of anything serious to heart. Collins Stewart shares had rallied on Friday, on a day when talk of Japanese interest in Close Brothers was also swirling.
Close Brothers, meanwhile, is down 32p, or 3.4%, at 918.5p as the excitement from Friday's news of more approaches wears off.
