London close: Stocks start week with some small gains

London's main stock indices ended modestly higher on Monday, buoyed by slight gains amid market worries over sluggish Chinese economic data.

The FTSE 100 edged up 0.23% to close at 7,273.79, while the FTSE 250 saw a smaller gain, closing 0.13% higher at 18,027.96.

In currency markets, sterling was last up 0.03% on the dollar to trade at $1.2843, while it weakened 0.14% against the euro to change hands at €1.1688.

“Friday’s gloomy atmosphere has faded to an extent today and stocks have attempted to regain some lost ground,” said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.

“But it promises to be a choppy week with US CPI and then the start of earnings season on the calendar.

“After a mixed start to July, investors are certainly hoping for some better news, but as Friday’s payroll data shows a recession is still some way off, and as a result more rate hikes are still coming down the line.”

Concerns over inflation data in China, deteriorating sentiment in the eurozone

In economic news, freshly-released data revealed a marked decrease in producer prices in China for June, intensifying apprehensions around potential deflation.

The report from the National Bureau of Statistics indicated that year-on-year producer price inflation plummeted 5.4% in June, a noticeable downturn from the 4.6% decrease recorded in May and exceeding analysts' predictions of a 5% contraction.

It represented the most severe dip since December 2015.

In addition, China's consumer price index experienced stagnation in June, displaying a 0% change year-on-year, down from 0.2% in May.

The performance, falling short of market forecasts for steady levels, logged the lowest record since February 2021.

“PPI deflation is likely to ease somewhat in the second half of the year, partly because infrastructure spending should put a floor under commodity prices,” said Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics.

“And core inflation could rise gradually, as a relatively tight labour market puts greater upward pressure on wages.

“Fuel price deflation, a key factor behind subdued headline inflation recently, will probably wane over the coming months.”

Closer to home, the sentiment of investors in the eurozone took a greater hit than anticipated in July.

The Sentix investor sentiment index sagged to -22.5 in July, dropping from -17.0 the prior month.

That deterioration surpassed the market consensus prediction for -17.9, registering the most significant slump since November 2022.

Furthermore, the current situation index dipped to -20.5 in July from -15.8 in June, while the expectations index dropped to -24.5 from -18.3 in the preceding month.

Of note was the headline Sentix index for Germany, which fell steeply from -20.3 in June to -28.4 in July – its lowest point since November last year.

Equities see mixed performance amid shifts in leadership and market ratings

On London’s equity markets, mining stocks experienced a downturn.

Rio Tinto Group and Anglo American slipped by 0.95% and 0.32%, respectively, though they managed to recover somewhat from earlier deeper losses.

BT Group slipped 0.2%, after it announced that chief executive Philip Jansen would step down in the next 12 months after serving for four-and-a-half years.

The company said it had launched a succession process to fill the role.

Coinciding with the leadership transition, reports circulated that major shareholder Deutsche Telekom could be eyeing a potential takeover of the FTSE 100 firm.

Online supermarket Ocado Group also registered a decline, falling 1.76% after Barclays reduced its price target on the shares from 740p to 640p.

In real estate, Hammerson, Land Securities Group, and Shaftesbury Capital saw their shares tumble, decreasing by 2.6%, 0.98% and 1.88%, respectively, due to rating downgrades at HSBC.

Meanwhile, self-storage company Big Yellow Group reported a first quarter revenue increase of 6.7%, largely driven by higher rents, but its shares still fell by 2.26%.

Sales for the quarter ended 30 June totalled £48.1m, up from £45.1m year-on-year, while on a like-for-like basis, sales rose 5.4% to £47m.

On the upside, media group Future jumped 6.06% following the announcement of a share buyback of up to £45m.

Flutter Entertainment also enjoyed a substantial gain of 3.2%, following a favourable broker note from Jefferies, which said it expected the momentum outlined in the company’s first-quarter update had continued through the second quarter.

“Valuation remains undemanding given US growth potential,” it said.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,273.79 0.23%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,027.96 0.13%
techMARK (TASX) 4,307.40 0.42%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 15,155.00p 3.20%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,194.00p 2.12%
Persimmon (PSN) 993.20p 1.91%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,067.00p 1.87%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 160.10p 1.78%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,432.00p 1.59%
IMI (IMI) 1,564.00p 1.56%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,063.00p 1.33%
Schroders (SDR) 425.60p 1.33%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,736.00p 1.31%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 581.60p -1.76%
National Grid (NG.) 988.80p -1.04%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 566.60p -0.98%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 267.90p -0.96%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,868.50p -0.95%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 668.40p -0.77%
Glencore (GLEN) 433.10p -0.74%
Rightmove (RMV) 517.20p -0.65%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 2,838.00p -0.56%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,699.00p -0.53%

FTSE 250 - Risers

OSB Group (OSB) 360.60p 7.82%
Future (FUTR) 735.00p 6.06%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 121.80p 5.82%
International Distributions Services (IDS) 232.20p 4.55%
W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 94.40p 4.36%
IP Group (IPO) 53.70p 3.27%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 584.50p 2.81%
Playtech (PTEC) 569.00p 2.15%
Paragon Banking Group (PAG) 506.00p 2.10%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 211.60p 2.03%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Abrdn Private Equity Opportunities Trust (APEO) 439.00p -3.52%
Coats Group (COA) 65.30p -3.40%
Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited NPV (SONG) 74.70p -2.99%
Caledonia Investments (CLDN) 3,110.00p -2.96%
Digital 9 Infrastructure NPV (DGI9) 56.40p -2.76%
Hammerson (HMSO) 23.98p -2.60%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 996.00p -2.26%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 86.55p -2.04%
Molten Ventures (GROW) 258.40p -1.90%
Shaftesbury Capital (SHC) 109.40p -1.88%