London open: Stocks recover from previous session's losses
UK stocks recovered ground on Wednesday after a batch of weak manufacturing data sent stocks lower in the previous session.
Poor factory reports in China, the UK, Europe and the US weakened sentiment on Tuesday. In particular, two separate figures showing a contraction in Chinese manufacturing fuelled concerns about the slowdown in the world’s second largest economy.
The data had pushed global stocks into the red but the Asian and UK markets bounced back on Wednesday.
“Things are looking a bit better, if still nervy, this Wednesday morning, with the European indices posting sturdy gains as the day began,” said Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex.
“However, the fears over China are still looming above the markets like the sword of Damocles, meaning it is far too early to tell what the state of trading will be by the end of the day. The saving grace could be the two-day Chinese holiday that begins on Thursday, which in theory should provide a moment of respite for volatility-weary investors and therefore a chance to avoid the usual last minute panic in the minutes before the closing bell.”
Away from China, the focus will be on key economic data releases including Markit’s UK construction purchasing managers’ index at 0930 BST, the US private payrolls report at 1315 BST and US factory orders at 1500 BST.
In company news, ASOS slumped after the founder of the online fashion retailer stepped down as chief executive after 15 years.
Ashtead gained as the British industrial equipment hire company said it was on track to achieve its full-year expectations after reporting a strong first quarter.
Tesco declined as the supermarket chain reportedly chose private equity firm MBK Partners as preferred bidder to buy its South Korean unit.
Online gambling company GVC Holdings dropped as it said it could go hostile in the £1bn tug-of-war for Bwin.party Digital Entertainment if Bwin's board recommends a lower offer from 888 Holdings Plc, the Times reported.
Royal Dutch Shell and BP shares were sitting lower as oil prices continued to slide with Brent crude down 1.7% to $48.72 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate down 2.4% to $44.34 at 0906 BST.
Market Movers
techMARK 3,062.60 +0.65%
FTSE 100 6,074.15 +0.26%
FTSE 250 16,891.83 +0.31%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,335.00p +4.94%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 961.50p +4.85%
Meggitt (MGGT) 501.00p +2.52%
3i Group (III) 469.90p +2.33%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 931.50p +1.97%
Intu Properties (INTU) 319.70p +1.49%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,093.50p +1.49%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 582.50p +1.39%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,537.00p +1.39%
Capita (CPI) 1,212.00p +1.34%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,625.00p -1.28%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,619.00p -1.16%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 235.60p -0.97%
BP (BP.) 346.80p -0.74%
BG Group (BG.) 958.00p -0.72%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 194.70p -0.66%
Glencore (GLEN) 132.65p -0.64%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 502.50p -0.59%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,030.00p -0.59%
Fresnillo (FRES) 598.00p -0.58%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Redefine International (RDI) 53.75p +2.97%
Electra Private Equity (ELTA) 3,275.00p +2.34%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 117.10p +2.27%
Synergy Health (SYR) 1,624.00p +2.20%
DCC (DCC) 4,894.00p +2.09%
Indivior (INDV) 222.80p +1.97%
Aggreko (AGK) 1,045.00p +1.85%
Derwent London (DLN) 3,595.00p +1.58%
SEGRO (SGRO) 420.40p +1.55%
BTG (BTG) 631.50p +1.53%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Halfords Group (HFD) 469.80p -7.88%
Diploma (DPLM) 665.50p -6.99%
Premier Oil (PMO) 99.00p -4.53%
Evraz (EVR) 68.25p -3.74%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 94.95p -3.31%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,265.00p -2.37%
Just Retirement Group (JRG) 187.60p -2.04%
Foxtons Group (FOXT) 236.10p -1.34%
Debenhams (DEB) 74.00p -1.33%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 215.80p -1.33%
FTSE TechMARK - Risers
Filtronic (FTC) 6.75p +8.00%
Dialight (DIA) 654.00p +3.32%
SDL (SDL) 376.00p +1.01%
KCOM Group (KCOM) 96.50p +0.52%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 78.25p +0.32%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 842.50p +0.18%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 7.71p +0.13%
IShares Euro Gov Bond 7-10YR UCITS ETF (IEGM) € 198.97 +0.12%
FTSE TechMARK - Fallers
UCW Limited (UCW) A$0.01 -6.67%
XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 1,577.00p -2.95%
NCC Group (NCC) 236.50p -1.46%
Consort Medical (CSRT) 940.00p -1.05%
Skyepharma (SKP) 323.00p -0.23%
E2V Technologies (E2V) 236.25p -0.21%