London close: Tesco paces gains as sales accelerate

Stocks in London finished higher as the pound slid back against the dollar after data showed consumer prices unexpectedly dropped in October.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.59% to 6,792.74, while the pound was down 0.8% against the greenback at 1.2402 after data from the Office for National Statistics showed the consumer prices index fell to 0.9% in October from 1% in September, below economists’ expectations for a nudge up to 1.1%.

The ONS said a large jump in input prices was not yet being reflected on the high street.

Month-on-month, CPI rose 0.1% versus the previous month’s 0.2% increase and the consensus forecast for an acceleration to 0.3%.

Core UK CPI, which strips out more volatile prices like food and fuel, rose 1.2%, which was again short of the 1.4% consensus estimate and down from the prior month's 1.5% rise.

The ONS said the main downward pressures on the CPI rate were prices for clothing and university tuition fees, which rose by less than they did a year ago, along with falling prices for certain games and toys, overnight hotel stays and non-alcoholic beverages.

Spreadex’s Connor Campbell said: “Coming in at 0.9%, the markets were shocked that the CPI reading not only failed to hit the 1.1% forecast, but actually arrived under the 1.0% seen in September. And while analysts were quick to state that prices are still set to rise, and rise quite sharply, the news of this inflation respite was taken as a big blow by sterling, as it makes it even more unlikely that the Bank of England will consider lifting interest rates away from their record lows any time soon.”

Cable finished the session down by 0.61% at 1.2419.

"Despite October’s weak number, CPI inflation remains set to make big strides towards the 2% target over the next three months, as the anniversary of sharp falls in motor fuel and food prices is reached. [...] As a result, we still expect CPI inflation to peak at about 3.5% by the end of 2017, crippling consumers and preventing the MPC from announcing more stimulus," said Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

Tombs expected CPI to peak at roughly 3.5% by the end of 2017, while Barclays Research expected it to average 2.4% next year.

Crude oil futures stormed back following three back-to-back sessions of losses, amid hopes that OPEC will agree a production cut at its meeting later this month. West Texas Intermediate was up 4.31% to $45.27 a barrel and Brent crude was 3.9% firmer at $46.24.

Investors were also mulling over Bank of England governor Mark Carney’s testimony before Parliament’s Treasury Committee.

Carney, who confirmed on Tuesday that he will not extend his time at the BoE beyond 2019, explained that he had added to his term by a year in order to provide continuity through the Article 50 process. He highlighted a neutral stance on monetary policy, saying that were risks on both sides, and adding that there was no forward guidance on the future policy path.

He also argued in favour of a transition period after the end of the two-year period for Brexit renegotiations.

In corporate news, Tesco powered ahead a day before its next Capital Markets Day as the latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel for the 12 weeks to 6 November 2016 showed the group has grown at its fastest rate in three years, with sales increasing by 2.2%. Figures from a rival survey published by Nielsen showed growth at rival discounters Aldi and Lidl slowed to its lowest pace since the last quarter of 2011.

Budget airline EasyJet flew higher as it reported a 27.9% drop in full-year profit to £495m that was in line with the guidance it gave in October, as it took a hit from terrorist attacks and as the UK’s decision to leave the European Union made the euro more expensive for British travellers over the summer.

Technology company Smiths Group ticked up as its said first-quarter revenues rose 16% on a reported basis, while Land Securities rallied after reporting a 4.5% jump in first-half revenue profit to £192.5m.

Assurance provider Intertek gained ground as it partnered with ABC Analitic, a water test provider, to form an environmental services joint venture in Mexico.

Stock in aerospace and defence group Meggitt was on the front foot after it said trading since the half year has been in line with expectations, while transport operator FirstGroup nudged up as it swung to an interim profit.

On the downside, Vodafone reversed earlier gains despite better-than-expected first-half results, while TalkTalk fell sharply as it posted a rise in first-half pre-tax profit but said it lost 29,000 broadband customers and 56,000 TV customers.

Miners fell victim to profit-taking on the heels of overnight losses in steel and iron ore futures. Adding to the selling pressure, analysts at HSBC weighed in with a rather gloomy prognosis for the copper market, telling clients that there was "limited visibility" on improved Chinese demand and a mooted increase in US infrastructure spending.

"Both of these issues are driving sentiment at present, but there is limited visibility on whether these are materialising to gauge the impact on fundamentals," they said.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,792.74 0.59%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,573.10 0.58%
techMARK (TASX) 3,309.64 0.05%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,723.00p 6.10%
Tesco (TSCO) 217.00p 5.42%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,087.00p 5.33%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 221.90p 4.37%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 3,148.00p 3.62%
British Land Company (BLND) 606.50p 3.23%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,989.50p 3.19%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 453.80p 2.97%
Royal Mail (RMG) 499.20p 2.95%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,076.50p 2.92%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Anglo American (AAL) 1,096.50p -6.68%
Glencore (GLEN) 267.40p -5.45%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 671.00p -4.96%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,271.50p -4.86%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,004.00p -4.50%
Standard Life (SL.) 355.00p -2.39%
DCC (DCC) 6,065.00p -2.26%
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 8,660.00p -1.93%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,852.50p -1.81%
ITV (ITV) 165.00p -1.61%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Polypipe Group (PLP) 282.30p 9.69%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 262.20p 9.62%
Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 450.30p 7.21%
Laird (LRD) 140.80p 6.39%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 673.50p 6.31%
Assura (AGR) 60.00p 4.99%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 796.00p 4.45%
Metro Bank (MTRO) 3,110.00p 4.36%
Allied Minds (ALM) 367.20p 4.11%
Meggitt (MGGT) 462.90p 3.98%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 332.60p -8.70%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 761.00p -6.63%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 189.50p -5.52%
BTG (BTG) 611.50p -5.34%
Debenhams (DEB) 55.95p -3.78%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,097.00p -2.92%
Card Factory (CARD) 249.40p -2.54%
Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 582.00p -2.43%
Riverstone Energy Limited (RSE) 1,281.00p -2.19%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,180.00p -2.15%