London open: Stocks little changed as investors mull Brexit
London stocks were little changed early on Thursday as investors assessed the implications of Prime Minister Theresa May’s triggering of Article 50 a day before, kicking off divorce proceedings with the European Union.
At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.1% to 7,379.19, while the pound was down 0.1% to $1.2424.
Spreadex’s Connor Campbell said: “After a bit of a wobble last week the FTSE now finds itself once again eyeing 7400, needing to add just 25 points to re-cross that level for the first time in nine days. If it is going to do so, however, it needs to scrounge around for some momentum, with the economic and earnings calendars looking unlikely to provide the requisite boost."
“That energy could come from the pound or, more accurately, if the pound falls any further as the day progresses. Sterling couldn’t make up its mind for much of Wednesday, flitting from green to red as Theresa May triggered Article 50; it eventually ended up at a mild loss, a trend that has continued into this morning.”
In corporate news, tobacco company Imperial Brands edged higher after saying it remained on target to hit first-half targets, with both revenues and earnings set to be up strongly at the reported level thanks to the weak pound.
Diploma ticked up just a touch as it said it expected group first half revenues to be around 20% ahead of the comparable period, boosted by the impact of the “substantial depreciation” in UK sterling.
Medical technology company ConvaTec was little changed after saying it has expanded its insulin pump manufacturing partnership with Medtronic to meet growing demand.
Betting and gaming company William Hill was also trading flat after it announced that Ruth Prior will be appointed chief financial officer, effective later in the year.
Booker nudged up despite revealing that total fourth quarter sales were hit hard by the new tobacco display ban and plain packaging restrictions.
Energy supplier SSE was in the red after it said it expects dividend cover for its 2017/18 financial year to be at the lower range of its target.
Online electrical goods retailer AO World was under the cosh after saying it raised £50m in a share placing and that it expects full-year revenue to be up 17%.
Morrisons was a high riser after a double upgrade to ‘buy’ by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Petra Diamonds advanced as it announced the launch of a $600m notes issue and restructuring of its debt facilities.
Hikma and Vectura were weaker on negative readacross after the US Food and Drug Administration rejected Mylan’s generic version of GlaxoSmithKline’s Advair.
Old Mutual, Prudential, Smith & Nephew, British Land, Phoenix Group, Ferrexpo, Go-Ahead and Kier all weighed on London equity markets as their stock went ex-dividend.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,379.19 0.07%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,992.07 0.07%
techMARK (TASX) 3,473.45 0.03%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 244.20p 2.95%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 3,151.00p 1.45%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,657.00p 1.16%
WPP (WPP) 1,731.00p 0.93%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,051.00p 0.89%
Wolseley (WOS) 5,120.00p 0.59%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,810.00p 0.56%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,960.00p 0.56%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,988.00p 0.56%
BP (BP.) 463.60p 0.52%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
SSE (SSE) 1,454.00p -2.28%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,954.00p -2.15%
Schroders (SDR) 3,043.00p -1.65%
Old Mutual (OML) 216.20p -1.55%
Prudential (PRU) 1,686.50p -1.26%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,225.00p -1.05%
British Land Company (BLND) 596.50p -0.91%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 332.50p -0.89%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,003.00p -0.69%
Centrica (CNA) 217.80p -0.68%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 474.70p 2.77%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 318.60p 2.41%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 322.90p 2.41%
Rank Group (RNK) 218.00p 2.35%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 644.50p 2.30%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 126.30p 2.02%
Henderson Group (HGG) 234.40p 1.78%
Polymetal International (POLY) 996.50p 1.37%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 205.20p 1.28%
Man Group (EMG) 146.50p 1.24%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
AO World (AO.) 132.80p -3.70%
Vectura Group (VEC) 150.90p -3.15%
Phoenix Group Holdings (DI) (PHNX) 752.00p -3.03%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,792.00p -2.89%
Safestore Holdings (SAFE) 365.60p -2.22%
Workspace Group (WKP) 749.50p -2.22%
Redefine International (RDI) 36.00p -1.93%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 163.30p -1.69%
Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 1,708.00p -1.67%
Kier Group (KIE) 1,391.00p -1.63%