London open: Stocks little changed; BHP Billiton rallies on Elliott call for reform
London stocks were little changed in early trade as investors continued to digest last week's weaker-than-expected non-farm payrolls report and kept an eye on developments between Russia and the US following the US missile attack on Syria.
At 0835 BST, the FTSE 100 was flat at 7.352.45, while the pound was up 0.1% versus the dollar at 1.2390.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said that considering last Friday’s choppy waters, the market may enjoy the quiet of this Monday’s economic calendar.
"Having been one of the beneficiaries of the news that US unemployment now sits at a decade low- thanks to the negative impact this fact had on cable - the FTSE seems content to nudge remain effectively flat at 7,350 this morning. That leaves the UK index at the top end of the 7,300 to 7,350 trading bracket it has floated around in since March 21, i.e. when the rumblings of Trump’s healthcare humiliation first hit the market.
"The pound struggled last Friday thanks to a combination of the US unemployment surprise and a disappointing set of UK manufacturing and industrial production readings. Against the dollar it ended the week below 1.24 for the first time since March 21, a level it hasn’t been able to climb back above this morning. Against the euro, however, sterling has fared better, and despite last week’s struggles still sits just half a cent away from the two-month peak struck one week ago"
Meanwhile, market participants were also likely to be looking closely at the relationship between the US and Russia after President Putin and Iranian leader Hassan Rouhani said the US had crossed a "red line" with its missile strikes on Syria last week.
On the corporate front, Barclays was in the red after City watchdogs launched an investigation into its chief executive's attempts to uncover the identity of a secret whistleblower at the bank. After its own investigation, the bank has issues a formal written reprimand to CEO Jes Staley and will cut his bonus by a "very significant" amount, as well as passing the details onto the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
BHP Billiton rallied as activist investor Elliott Management urged the company's directors to cancel the miner's London listing in a unification with its Australian headquarters and to dispose of its US petroleum business. The hedge fund said these measures would result in shareholders enjoyed a 51% increase in the attributable value of their shares.
Anglo American rose after saying it will sell its Eskom-tied thermal coal operations in South Africa to Seriti Resources Holdings Proprietary, a company majority owned by historically disadvantaged South Africans, for 2.3bn rand ($164m).
Facilities manager Carillion was also on the front foot after its joint venture was awarded the Hestia South East and London Region Multi Activity Contract with a potential value of up to £200m across an initial contract period of five years.
Gold miner Centamin lost its shine after it reported a 13% drop in gold production at its Sukari mine in Egypt.
AstraZeneca slipped as Jefferies downgraded the stock to 'hold' from 'buy', but Rio Tinto and Utilitywise gained ground after rating upgrades from CLSA and Macquarie, respectively.
There are no major UK data releases due.