On the corporate front in the UK this morning, Barclays has reported a 17% rise in its profit in the first half of the year, helped by strong performances by its equity traders and investment bankers.

The bank said its pre-tax profit hit £6.1bn, up from £5.2bn at the same point a year ago and compared with analyst expectations of £5.9bn.

We believe the market was likely spooked by the progress of China’s chipmaking equipment capabilities, and was worried that this progress would threaten the competitive position of global chipmaking and chip equipment leaders.

That said, we believe the sell-off today is largely a knee-jerk reaction and overdone.