London midday: Stocks climb on BoE stimulus hopes

London stocks climbed on Friday as weak UK manufacturing data lifted hopes of further stimulus measures from the Bank of England.

The latest data from Markit released on Friday showed the UK economy contracted at its steepest pace since early 2009 in July.

Markit’s flash UK composite purchasing managers’ index, which combines both the services and manufacturing sectors, fell to 47.7 in July from 52.4 in June. A reading below 50 indicates contraction.

The flash services PMI slid to 47.4 from 52.3 in June, missing expectations of 49.2 and marking the lowest reading since March 2009.

The manufacturing PMI came in at 49.1 from 52.1 the month before, falling short of economists’ expectations for a reading of 50. This was the lowest level since February 2013.

Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: “The collapse in the composite PMI to its lowest level since April 2009 provides the first major evidence that the UK is entering a sharp downturn.

“The confidence shock from the (UK's vote to leave the European Union on 24 June) might wear off over the coming months, but the decline in the new orders index to just 46.2, from 53.0 in June, points to even faster falls in output ahead.”

The pound fell 0.94% against the dollar to $1.3108 following the report.

The flash Eurozone composite PMI also slipped to 52.9 from 53.1 in June, hitting an 18-month low but better than expectations for a reading of 52.5.

The services PMI came in at 52.7, down from 52.8 in June, also marking an 18-month low but ahead of expectations of 52.5.

The manufacturing PMI nudged down to 51.9 in July from 52.8 the previous month. This marked a two-month low and was a touch below the expected reading of 52.0.

“The eurozone economy showed surprising resilience in the face of the UK’s vote to leave the EU and another terrorist attack in France,” said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit.

“The overall rate of economic growth is largely unchanged, suggesting GDP is growing at a sluggish but reasonably steady annual rate of around 1.5%.”

Still to come, Markit’s US manufacturing PMI at 1445 BST.

In corporate news, Home Retail Group gained ground after the Competition and Markets Authority cleared Sainsbury’s acquisition of the Argos owner.

Vodafone was higher after its first-quarter revenue beat analysts’ expectations, while building materials group CRH rallied after lifting its earnings estimate as a result of exceptional trading in the second quarter.

Shares in gold miner Acacia Mining surged after it reported a jump in first-half profit and lifted its dividend.

On the downside, Sports Direct was under the cosh after a report by the Business, Innovation and Skills committee compared working conditions at the company to a Victorian workhouse and said founder Mike Ashley must be held accountable.

Elsewhere, Marks & Spencer was in the red after Barclays downgraded the stock to ‘underweight’ from ‘equalweight’.

EasyJet fell as Investec downgraded the stock to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’ as it cut the price target to 1,100p from 2,050p to reflect the revised outlook following the airline’s third-quarter update on Thursday. The brokerage said third quarter trading was broadly in line with post-Brexit expectations. However, the fourth-quarter yield outlook is highly uncertain, with yields achieved for Q4 post-Brexit down around.12%, compared to those before Brexit down around 5%.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,726.58 0.40%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,000.08 -0.28%
techMARK (TASX) 3,414.16 0.46%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Vodafone Group (VOD) 235.30p 4.53%
CRH (CRH) 2,286.00p 4.15%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,582.00p 2.38%
Centrica (CNA) 242.30p 1.81%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,593.50p 1.55%
Sky (SKY) 880.00p 1.50%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 180.70p 1.46%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,026.00p 1.28%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,840.00p 1.27%
Tesco (TSCO) 160.70p 1.20%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 2,608.00p -3.30%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,037.00p -2.81%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 319.70p -2.68%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,511.00p -2.58%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,591.00p -2.57%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 147.10p -2.32%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 54.90p -2.31%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 413.60p -1.87%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 188.80p -1.77%
Royal Mail (RMG) 501.00p -1.57%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Acacia Mining (ACA) 561.50p 7.77%
Home Retail Group (HOME) 155.00p 3.82%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 229.20p 3.52%
Allied Minds (ALM) 371.90p 3.13%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,063.00p 2.31%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 276.20p 2.18%
Softcat (SCT) 334.40p 1.95%
ICAP (IAP) 459.80p 1.55%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 1,832.00p 1.38%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 774.50p 1.37%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Vesuvius (VSVS) 338.90p -6.10%
Countrywide (CWD) 238.50p -5.62%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 403.30p -4.20%
BGEO Group (BGEO) 2,672.00p -3.95%
Shawbrook Group (SHAW) 166.80p -3.92%
International Personal Finance (IPF) 328.70p -3.66%
Redrow (RDW) 319.50p -3.56%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 315.30p -3.10%
Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 421.20p -2.95%
Zoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 278.00p -2.87%