London open: Stocks dip as investors eye construction data
London stocks nudged a touch lower in early trade on Tuesday as investors sifted through corporate news and eyed the latest reading on the UK construction sector.
At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.1% to 7,432.28, while the pound was up 0.1% against the dollar at 1.3285.
On the data front, the construction purchasing managers' index is at 0930 BST, along with the Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee meeting minutes.
"This is a crucial week for the British currency," said analyst Konstantinos Anthis at ADS Securities, "as the release of the PMI figures from the domestic economy could set the stage for a strong month for the pound but traders were disappointed to see that the performance of the manufacturing sector was not that analysts expected.
"Today, the construction PMI report is pending for release and combined with tomorrow's services figures the data will dictate the price action for sterling."
He said a positive set of figures from the two remaining business sectors will help the pound correct towards the 1.34 area but further weakness will send prices towards the 1.32 support level.
In corporate news, Ferguson, the plumbing and heating group formerly known as Wolseley, was in the black as it proposed a final dividend of 73.33p and announced a £500m share buyback after a year of strong profits growth.
Bakery chain Greggs was also on the front foot after it reported solid third quarter growth, with total sales up 8.6% for the 13 weeks to 30 September, and company-managed shop like-for-like sales up 5.0%.
Electrocomponents gained ground after it posted a 13% rise in first-half revenues and upgraded its profit forecast.
Great Portland Estates edged higher after saying it signed 17 new lettings in the second quarter with a combined annual rent of £5.3m.
Shares in Coca‑Cola HBC fell after it announced the passing of its chief executive Dimitris Lois.
Advertising giant WPP retreated after Morgan Stanley placed 22.5m shares in the company on behalf of Bain Capital at 1,350p.
Britvic slipped after saying it plans to close its plant in Norwich and transfer production of Robinsons and Fruit Shoot to its manufacturing sites in East London, Leeds and Rugby, in a move that will affect 242 employees.
Airlines were in focus again, with beleaguered budget carrier Ryanair flying higher as it posted a 10% jump in traffic for September despite recent cancellations. Central and Eastern Europe-focused low-cost carrier Wizz Air was trading flat, however, even as it reported a 26% jump in passenger numbers in September and said the load factor ticked higher. Both airlines put in a solid performance on Monday, gaining on the back of Monarch's collapse.
BAE Systems was weaker as Berenberg cut the stock to 'hold', while Morrisons fell as Berenberg initiated cover of the stock at 'sell'.
Anglo American was boosted by an upgrade to 'buy' at HSBC.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,432.28 -0.09%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,958.38 0.01%
techMARK (TASX) 3,516.28 -0.19%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Ferguson (FERG) 5,035.00p 3.52%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,385.00p 1.58%
Barclays (BARC) 194.05p 0.70%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 908.50p 0.61%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,345.50p 0.60%
Glencore (GLEN) 352.85p 0.58%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,802.00p 0.56%
Mondi (MNDI) 2,075.00p 0.53%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 363.10p 0.53%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 269.50p 0.52%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
BAE Systems (BA.) 614.00p -2.62%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,497.00p -2.35%
WPP (WPP) 1,365.00p -2.01%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,661.00p -1.08%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 233.60p -0.93%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 2,396.00p -0.87%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 635.50p -0.78%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,680.50p -0.77%
Relx plc (REL) 1,657.00p -0.66%
NMC Health (NMC) 2,734.00p -0.65%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Rank Group (RNK) 226.60p 3.23%
Polypipe Group (PLP) 434.90p 2.19%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 198.10p 2.11%
Electrocomponents (ECM) 649.50p 1.72%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 769.00p 1.72%
Essentra (ESNT) 563.50p 1.53%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 144.80p 1.33%
Worldwide Healthcare Trust (WWH) 2,617.00p 1.12%
Just Group (JUST) 146.40p 1.10%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 887.00p 1.08%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Aggreko (AGK) 875.00p -1.41%
Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 1,688.00p -1.34%
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 351.50p -1.07%
Savills (SVS) 932.50p -1.01%
Dignity (DTY) 2,296.00p -0.99%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 292.20p -0.98%
Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 610.00p -0.97%
Redefine International (RDI) 38.26p -0.96%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 208.60p -0.90%
Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 1,123.00p -0.88%