London midday: BoJ stimulus sparks surge, as RBS and IAG jump
London's stock market surged on Friday, following on from a stellar performance by Asian stocks after Japan's central bank surprised with an increase to its monetary-easing programme.
Direct Line Insurance Group
185.30p
16:35 25/04/24
FTSE 100
8,078.86
17:14 25/04/24
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI)
176.15p
17:05 25/04/24
NATWEST GROUP
289.80p
16:39 25/04/24
Superdry
7.72p
16:35 25/04/24
WPP
796.40p
16:35 25/04/24
Better-than-expected quarterly profits from RBS and an increase to full-year guidance at IAG also helped to boost sentiment in the City.
The FTSE 100 had jumped 1.4% to 6,551 by midday after closing at 6,463.55 on Thursday, its highest finish since 8 October.
Just days after the Federal Reserve called an end to its quantitative easing (QE) plan, the Bank of Japan said it would be expanding its bond-buying programme to 80trn yen a year, up from the Y60trn-70trn level which has been in place since April 2013, amid downwards pressure on prices and falling consumer spending.
The move saw Japanese stocks soar 5% on Friday with Tokyo's Nikkei reaching its highest in seven years, while the yen slump close to seven-year lows against the dollar.
"The Japanese central bank has taken the QE baton from the Fed and equity traders couldn’t be happier," said market analyst David Madden from IG.
Meanwhile, investors were also focusing on the European Central Bank (ECB) ahead of its purchases of asset-backed securities which should start in November. According to ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny, policymakers in Europe should "never say 'never'" to the idea of full-blown QE.
RBS, IAG and WPP provide a boost
Royal Bank of Scotland was making decent gains after saying it swung to a profit of nearly £1.3bn in the third quarter of 2014, compared with a loss of £634m the year before and ahead of the £1.1bn expected by analysts. The part-nationalised lender also confirmed that it would be keeping Irish arm Ulster Bank following a strategic review.
Anglo-Spanish airline conglomerate IAG was also in demand as it reported a 30% jump in third-quarter operating profits on the back of falling fuel costs and lifted its guidance for full-year growth. It now expects full-year adjusted operating profits to grow €550m-600m over last year, compared with an earlier target for €500m growth.
Tougher comparatives led to a slowdown in organic growth at advertising and media giant WPP in the third quarter, though the company maintained its guidance for the full year, helping shares higher.
Direct Line said it remains on track to hit its full-year targets but noted "highly competitive" markets as gross written premiums fell 5% in the third quarter. The stock dropped into the red after a positive start.
Fashion retailer SuperGroup was a heavy faller after taking a "more cautious view" on its full-year results due to "the level of sector discounting and continuing weather-related uncertainty". It now expects profits to come in at £60m-65m, compared with analysts' estimates of between £69m and £73m.
Market Movers
techMARK 2,773.18 +0.85%
FTSE 100 6,551.33 +1.36%
FTSE 250 15,502.89 +1.34%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 380.80p +4.24%
St James's Place (STJ) 741.00p +4.00%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 405.70p +3.84%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 869.50p +3.70%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 2,036.00p +3.30%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,328.00p +3.19%
Friends Life Group Limited (FLG) 323.30p +3.03%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,976.00p +2.87%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,501.00p +2.81%
Schroders (SDR) 2,395.00p +2.75%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 275.70p -2.06%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 3,703.00p -2.01%
Fresnillo (FRES) 704.00p -1.74%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,043.00p -1.04%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,315.00p -0.75%
BT Group (BT.A) 366.70p -0.33%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Regus (RGU) 197.70p +7.04%
Henderson Group (HGG) 211.00p +5.45%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 313.80p +3.94%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 126.90p +3.76%
COLT Group SA (COLT) 138.80p +3.74%
Hellermanntyton Group (HTY) 305.30p +3.49%
esure Group (ESUR) 246.30p +3.44%
Elementis (ELM) 265.60p +3.35%
Berendsen (BRSN) 1,011.00p +3.32%
Investec (INVP) 567.00p +3.18%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Supergroup (SGP) 812.00p -8.25%
Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 93.95p -5.91%
African Barrick Gold (ABG) 207.40p -3.13%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 53.25p -2.92%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 83.60p -2.62%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 186.30p -2.61%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,028.00p -2.10%
EnQuest (ENQ) 71.30p -1.79%
Afren (AFR) 77.45p -1.59%
Premier Oil (PMO) 255.00p -1.58%