London open: Stocks drift lower in quiet trade
Stocks in London drifted lower at the start of what is likely to be a very quiet week in the run-up to Christmas.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.2% to 6,994.90. Meanwhile, oil prices edged higher, with West Texas Intermediate up 0.4% at $52.13 a barrel and Brent crude up 0.6% to $55.54.
Spreadex’s Connor Campbell said: “It may be the start of the final week before Christmas, but so far the European markets are looking rather Santa-less this Monday.
“To be fair, the FTSE has actually had a rather impressive December already, finally climbing back above 7,000 last Friday, so it can be forgiven for not drastically building on that level this morning. The index is still flirting with that landmark level, though currently it lacks the kind of momentum that could lead it to a fresh all-time high later in the day. As for the pound, it’s still struggling below 1.25 against the dollar, while against the dollar it has shed 0.2%.”
In corporate news, oil giant BP edged higher after signing an agreement to take a 10% stake in Abu Dhabi's ADCO onshore oil concession for an undisclosed sum. BP also said on Monday that it will invest nearly $1bn in a natural gas field off the coast of West Africa as it struck a deal with Kosmos Energy.
Electra Private Equity was in the black as it said it will receive roughly £405m proceeds from the £1.35bn sale of Parkdean Resorts to Canadian investors Onex Corporation.
Investment manager Brewin Dolphin nudged up after announcing that it will buy Duncan Lawrie Asset Management for £25.5m along with a payment of £2.5m, to reflect the value of net assets in the business.
On the downside, FTSE 250 intellectual property-based business developer IP Group retreated as it announced the creation of Microbiotica, which it described as a newly formed spin-out company from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute established to commercialise the institute's research into the role of the human microbiome in disease.
Carnival shares slumped as Berenberg downgraded its stance on the stock to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’ and cut the price target to 4,000p from 4,200p.
More broadly, investors were digesting news that China has agreed to return a US underwater drone that was taken by a Chinese naval vessel in the South China Sea last Thursday, which helped to assuage concerns about diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
There are no major UK data releases due.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,994.90 -0.24%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,803.50 0.11%
techMARK (TASX) 3,330.81 -0.28%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Mediclinic International (MDC) 736.00p 1.52%
Capita (CPI) 497.40p 1.49%
Hammerson (HMSO) 561.00p 1.36%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,727.00p 1.23%
Unilever (ULVR) 3,186.50p 1.09%
British Land Company (BLND) 635.50p 1.03%
Intu Properties (INTU) 275.70p 0.99%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,119.00p 0.90%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,199.00p 0.73%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,805.00p 0.73%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Carnival (CCL) 3,958.00p -2.70%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,110.00p -2.03%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 673.50p -1.68%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,328.00p -1.66%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,284.00p -1.61%
Barclays (BARC) 224.50p -1.60%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,043.00p -1.57%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 659.50p -1.57%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 657.50p -1.41%
Old Mutual (OML) 196.80p -1.20%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Paysafe Group (PAYS) 351.80p 7.06%
Drax Group (DRX) 345.20p 6.54%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 440.00p 4.45%
Ascential (ASCL) 275.70p 4.39%
NMC Health (NMC) 1,512.00p 4.35%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 111.50p 2.58%
Caledonia Investments (CLDN) 2,562.00p 2.48%
Redefine International (RDI) 38.10p 1.84%
Marston's (MARS) 135.30p 1.50%
Unite Group (UTG) 579.50p 1.49%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Evraz (EVR) 254.50p -3.27%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 346.30p -2.72%
Polypipe Group (PLP) 300.00p -2.72%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 359.60p -2.68%
PayPoint (PAY) 922.00p -2.43%
Polymetal International (POLY) 757.00p -2.26%
Marshalls (MSLH) 276.70p -2.23%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 199.20p -2.16%
SVG Capital (SVI) 709.00p -1.53%
IP Group (IPO) 155.70p -1.46%