Sector movers: Games Workshop to cap off 'amazing' year, food producers crumble
Leisure goods and tech stocks led the risers on a positive day for London stocks, while all food producers were in the red.
Associated British Foods
2,442.00p
16:35 18/04/24
Food Producers & Processors
7,605.79
17:14 18/04/24
FTSE 100
7,877.05
17:14 18/04/24
FTSE 250
19,450.67
17:14 18/04/24
FTSE 350
4,334.00
17:14 18/04/24
FTSE All-Share
4,290.02
16:54 18/04/24
Games Workshop Group
9,595.00p
16:35 18/04/24
Tate & Lyle
636.50p
16:35 18/04/24
Leisure goods were uplifted as Games Workshop stomped higher ahead of its full year results later this month.
A preview from broker Peel Hunt predicted an "amazing year", forecasting profits to have almost doubled to £74m on sales up 37% thanks to strong growth across all channels and regions.
"We see Games Workshop as a major beneficiary of social media, with the use of Facebook, Instagram and Twitch etc enabling greater interaction with hobbyists and easier recruitment and retention. Games Workshop also has considerable IP, which can be monitised through computer/online games etc," analysts said, though they said the first quarter of the new year would be tough as Warhammer 40k was launched this time last year.
The software & computer services sector was in the green on the back of a Wall Street tech rally overnight. European tech stocks took their lead from the US session on after a US sector rally that saw the Nasdaq hit a record high. With earnings season getting underway, investors will be looking for reasons to be more optimistic having spent months reading about the risks that a trade war poses to the economy.
Food producers were all in the red, led by sugar producer Tate & Lyle.
Global sugar production is expected to increase to record levels this year, a UN body calculated. Increase in output from the EU, India, China and India will result in production of 187.6m tonnes in 2018, the Food and Agriculture Organisation said. Global sugar trade is expected to shrink 4.1% to 55.5m tonnes in the marketing year to September, from because of surplus availability, the FAO said.
Also, US import data showed prices fell 0.4% month-on-month in June, much lower than expectations, which were for a rise of 0.1%. There was particular weakness in foods and beverages, which decreased 2.6% and consumer goods prices down 0.3%. Barclays economists noted that the trend in foods of a 2.1% year-on-year decline and slow annual growth in consumer goods "has been subdued for some time, however. As a result, we view the message from import prices as one of divergence between energy and consumer import prices that is likely to play out for the rest of the year."
Top performing sectors so far today
Leisure Goods 7,993.83 +3.22%
Industrial Metals & Mining 4,648.45 +1.94%
Software & Computer Services 1,843.10 +1.56%
Industrial Engineering 13,410.15 +1.54%
Support Services 8,650.67 +0.78%
Bottom performing sectors so far today
Automobiles & Parts 10,190.89 -1.56%
Food Producers & Processors 7,322.96 -1.36%
Mobile Telecommunications 4,054.17 -0.74%
Fixed Line Telecommunications 2,572.58 -0.55%
Tobacco 43,987.07 -0.41%