London close: Stocks mixed on eve of US presidential election

London markets closed with mixed results on Monday, as investors prepared for a week laden with key political and economic events, including the upcoming US presidential election and anticipated policy statements in both the UK and US.

The FTSE 100 index edged up 0.09% to 8,184.24 points, while the FTSE 250 dipped 0.09% to close at 20,461.29 points.

In currency markets, sterling was last up 0.1% on the dollar to trade at $1.2937, though it slipped 0.37% against the euro, changing hands at €1.1889.

“Investors are cautious ahead of Tuesday's US presidential election which is too close to call,” said IG senior analyst Axel Rudolph.

“Following a positive session in Asia ahead of China's National People's Congress meeting that may provide further details of new stimulus measures, European and US stocks were mixed as investors were focused on Tuesday's US election.

“US factory orders fell for a second month but the market seemed more interested in Thursday's US Fed rate decision at which another 25 bps rate cut is firmly priced in.”

Rudolph noted that oil prices rose around 2% on Monday, following OPEC+'s decision to postpone planned output increases by a month.

“Gold and silver prices were little changed on the day but traded in slightly positive territory.”

Eurozone manufacturing downturn continues, investor confidence improves slightly

In economic news, the eurozone’s manufacturing sector continued its prolonged downturn in October, marking 28 consecutive months of contraction, though the decline eased slightly, according to data from S&P Global and Hamburg Commercial Bank.

The HCOB eurozone manufacturing PMI rose to 46.0 in October, up from 45.0 in September and reaching its highest level in five months.

However, the index remained well below the neutral 50-point mark, reflecting ongoing weakness in manufacturing.

Persistent declines in new factory orders continued to pressure output, leading to further reductions in workforce numbers.

Although the rates of contraction in production, sales, and employment softened, business confidence slipped to a one-year low, underscoring the sector’s fragile outlook.

“There is one bit of good news in these numbers: the recession in the manufacturing sector did not deepen further in October,” said HCOB chief economist Cyrus de la Rubia, who calculated that manufacturing output could shrink eurozone GDP by 0.1% in the fourth quarter.

“It is not encouraging that inventory drawdowns for purchased materials continue at an unusually high pace.

“The Covid-19 crisis is still leaving its mark here - the ongoing reduction in inventories is obviously related to the fact that companies purchased and stockpiled materials and intermediate goods at an unprecedented scale in 2021 and 2022.”

Investor sentiment in the eurozone also showed a modest improvement in November, with the Sentix investor confidence index inching up to -12.8 from -13.8 in October.

While the current situation index rose, the expectations sub-index held steady, reflecting tempered optimism.

Sentix noted that despite these gains, the data does not indicate an imminent economic rebound.

Across the Atlantic, US factory orders fell more sharply than anticipated in September, posting the fourth decline in five months, according to the Census Bureau.

New orders for manufactured goods dropped by 0.5% to $584.2bn, exceeding the 0.4% fall expected by economists.

Transportation equipment orders drove the decline, particularly within the civilian aircraft segment, which saw a notable drop.

Excluding transportation, however, factory orders showed a slight 0.1% increase, while non-durable goods orders dipped 0.2%.

OPEC delay pushes oil plays higher, Raspberry Pi in the red

On London’s equity markets, Shell rose 0.79% and BP climbed 1.41%, buoyed by news that OPEC+ would delay planned output hikes by another month, supporting oil prices.

In the banking sector, NatWest Group advanced 2.61% after receiving an upgrade to ‘outperform’ from KBW, signalling increased confidence in the lender’s near-term outlook.

Retail group Frasers gained 2.04% as RBC Capital Markets raised its rating to ‘outperform’, citing undervalued resilience in its sports retail segment and strategic investments, such as its stake in Hugo Boss.

Halma also moved 1.07% higher after Redburn initiated coverage with a ‘buy’ rating.

Burberry Group surged 6.03% on speculation that Italian luxury brand Moncler may be considering a bid, following a report from online fashion publication Miss Tweed.

Anglo American rose 1.06% after announcing the AUD 1.6bn sale of its stake in the Jellinbah coal joint venture, aligning with its strategy to exit steelmaking coal.

On the downside, Ryanair came under pressure as it cut its full-year traffic forecast and reported lower first-half profits due to softer fares and delays from Boeing.

Reckitt Benckiser fell 0.98% following a downgrade to ‘market perform’ by Bernstein, while Smith & Nephew edged down 0.39% after Jefferies lowered its price target, though the investment bank maintained a ‘buy’ rating.

Fresnillo declined 0.75% after a downgrade from Canaccord Genuity, which cited the miner’s recent gains.

IMI slipped 0.78% as it appointed a new CFO, effective July next year.

Raspberry Pi Holdings dropped 2.32%, continuing a post-earnings slump that has seen shares fall 22% since late September despite better-than-expected interim profits.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,184.24 0.09%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,461.29 -0.09%
techMARK (TASX) 4,613.24 -0.67%

FTSE 100 - Risers

NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 385.10p 2.61%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 552.50p 2.50%
Frasers Group (FRAS) 780.00p 1.69%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,790.00p 1.53%
BT Group (BT.A) 142.15p 1.35%
Schroders (SDR) 363.60p 1.34%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,979.00p 1.25%
Barclays (BARC) 243.50p 1.21%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 717.70p 1.14%
Tesco (TSCO) 351.80p 1.09%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,061.00p -3.02%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 474.20p -2.73%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,056.00p -2.10%
Centrica (CNA) 115.70p -1.95%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,244.50p -1.93%
Fresnillo (FRES) 721.50p -1.90%
Beazley (BEZ) 763.00p -1.62%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) 2,100.00p -1.41%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 8,474.00p -1.37%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 17,730.00p -1.34%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Burberry Group (BRBY) 851.00p 4.80%
Alpha Group International (ALPH) 2,250.00p 3.21%
SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 58.40p 3.00%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 160.00p 2.96%
Future (FUTR) 902.00p 2.38%
Me Group International (MEGP) 223.00p 2.29%
Trainline (TRN) 397.00p 2.27%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 357.80p 2.23%
Foresight Environmental Infrastructure Limited (FGEN) 85.40p 2.03%
Greencoat UK Wind (UKW) 134.60p 1.82%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 326.00p -5.23%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 152.50p -2.80%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 123.60p -2.68%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 225.80p -2.67%
Marshalls (MSLH) 334.00p -2.62%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 451.20p -2.55%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 5,010.00p -2.53%
ICG Enterprise Trust (ICGT) 1,218.00p -2.09%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,125.00p -2.07%
NB Private Equity Partners Ltd. (NBPE) 1,530.00p -1.92%