London close: FTSE finishes above 8,000 despite US PPI pullback

London’s top-flight index closed above the 8,000 point level after a wavering session on Thursday, with Centrica surging ahead after bumper results.

The FTSE 100 ended the day up 0.18% at 8,012.53, and the FTSE 250 was ahead 0.04% at 20,181.45.

Sterling was meanwhile in the red, last trading down 0.17% on the dollar at $1.2010, as it weakened 0.15% against the euro to €1.1239.

“It’s been a day of two halves for European markets today with both the FTSE 100 and CAC 40 making new record highs this morning, before slipping back from those peaks during the afternoon session,” said CMC Markets chief market analyst Michael Hewson.

“The catalyst for the pullback was a US PPI report which punched a hole in the speed of the disinflation narrative that has driven this week’s stock market gains.”

Hewson quipped that it was “a timely reminder to markets” that, while inflation may have peaked, the move lower in prices was not going to be a straight line, and that there would likely be “many twists and turns” on the way.

“Comments from Cleveland Fed president Loretta Mester that she saw a compelling case for a 50-basis point move at the last Fed meeting also raised a few eyebrows, prompting speculation as to whether anyone else on the FOMC was leaning in a similar direction.”

In economic news from across the pond, Americans unexpectedly filed unemployment claims at a decelerated rate in the week ended 11 February, with the data remaining near a nine-month low.

Initial jobless claims dropped to 194,000, according to the Department of Labor, down from the previous week's downwardly-revised level of 195,000 and below market expectations for a print of 200,000.

Continuing claims increased to 1.69m in the week ended 4 February, up from 1.68m in the previous week.

The four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, came to 189,500 - an increase of 500 from the previous week's downwardly-revised average of 189,000.

Staying stateside, wholesale prices in the US rose more quickly than expected at the start of 2023.

According to the Labor Department, so-called final demand prices increased at a month-on-month pace of 0.7% for January.

That was faster than the consensus forecast for a rise of 0.4%, set by economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires.

In comparison to a year earlier , producer price gains slowed to 6.0% from 6.5%.

On London’s equity markets, British Gas owner Centrica rallied 5.72% after it said annual profits more than tripled to a record £3.3bn, driven by soaring wholesale gas prices in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as Britons struggle with household energy bills.

Standard Chartered gained 4.11% after it announced a new $1bn share buyback as annual profits rose by almost a third on higher global interest rates, but still missed estimates after a sharp rise in bad debt provisions.

Relx added 1.47% after it posted a 15% jump in full-year adjusted operating profit and lifted its full-year dividend by 10%.

Bank of Georgia Group pushed up 2.57% after another bumper set of results for the last quarter of 2022, as economic growth continued to rocket and the country's currency, the lari, continued to appreciate.

Moneysupermarket reversed earlier losses to close 0.42% firmer, after it posted a rise in full-year pre-tax profits.

On the downside, travel caterer and Upper Crust owner SSP Group was 0.41% weaker even after it backed its full-year guidance and hailed a strong start to the year, with revenues ahead of pre-pandemic levels amid a further recovery in the travel industry.

Indivior tumbled 13.56% after saying it swung to a loss in 2022 as it booked a $290m exceptional provision related to certain multidistrict antitrust class and state claims, and $6m to settle a dispute over reimbursement of legal costs with a supplier.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com. Additional reporting by Michele Maatouk, Frank Prenesti, Iain Gilbert and Alexander Bueso.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,012.53 0.18%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,181.45 0.04%
techMARK (TASX) 4,624.67 0.33%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Centrica (CNA) 104.20p 5.72%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 755.60p 4.11%
BT Group (BT.A) 142.25p 2.86%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 2,533.00p 2.34%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 101.52p 2.32%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 13,395.00p 2.25%
Entain (ENT) 1,384.50p 1.83%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 6,139.00p 1.69%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 113.80p 1.61%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 305.60p 1.60%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,978.50p -3.63%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,777.00p -3.37%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 870.60p -1.95%
3i Group (III) 1,641.00p -1.91%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,173.00p -1.88%
Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,216.00p -1.62%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,035.50p -1.52%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,757.00p -1.36%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,015.00p -1.31%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,431.50p -1.28%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 155.40p 5.14%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 142.40p 4.25%
Hammerson (HMSO) 29.98p 3.63%
Darktrace (DARK) 270.60p 3.48%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 520.00p 3.38%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 34.72p 3.15%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 869.50p 3.08%
Molten Ventures (GROW) 414.80p 2.67%
Bank of Georgia Group (BGEO) 2,790.00p 2.57%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 179.40p 2.51%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Indivior (INDV) 1,689.00p -13.56%
NCC Group (NCC) 170.20p -3.62%
Keller Group (KLR) 800.00p -3.50%
HICL Infrastructure (HICL) 160.80p -3.13%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 4,400.00p -2.87%
Liontrust Asset Management (LIO) 1,232.00p -2.69%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 273.20p -2.57%
Moonpig Group (MOON) 123.00p -2.54%
BH Macro Ltd. GBP Shares (BHMG) 438.00p -2.46%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 143.30p -2.12%