London midday: Stocks edge up but markets quiet on US holiday

London stocks had ticked a little higher by midday on Monday, heading towards a new record high, although the session was set to remain fairly quiet as US markets will be closed for Martin Luther King day.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 7,856.89.

Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The attractiveness of the FTSE 100 is undimmed, with the index set to flirt again with record highs in early trade. The record closing high of 7,877 is in reach, and another surge in buying could see stocks surpass the best level of 7903, seen on May 22, 2018.

"Hopes that inflation will keep descending from its peak in the US, after encouraging data last week, saw Wall Street end on a Friday high, with positive vibes spilling over to Monday trades in Asia.

"With British consumers flexing their spending muscle over the Christmas period and the country looking more likely to have escaped falling into recession in 2022, the waves of optimism have been lapping over the London market.

"Investors appear to have fallen back in love with UK assets, after a difficult period when FTSE 100 was the wallflower among global indices. Confidence has rebounded as investors eye up China’s reopening, helping commodity stocks. A stronger than expected appetite from consumers has boosted the retail, travel and hospitality sectors, while banks are still riding the wave of higher interest rates."

Market participants were mulling the latest Rightmove data, which showed that house prices nudged higher in January, halting two months of falls.

According the latest house price index, house prices rose 0.9% month-on-month in January, compared to a 2.1% decline in December. It was the biggest January rise since 2020. Year-on-year, house prices jumped 6.3%.

The average asking price is now £362,438, although that remains £8,720 below its October 2022 peak.

The number of prospective buyers contacting agents in January rose 4% when compared to the same period in 2019, and by 55% when compared to the two weeks before Christmas.

However, buyer demand was down by 36% on January 2022, Rightmove noted, an indication of the market returning to "more normal" levels of activity.

Tim Bannister, director of property science at Rightmove, said house buyers would be reassured by calmer market conditions following the "rapidly changing and at times chaotic economic climate of the final few months of last year".

He continued: "We expect that the full effect of affordability constraints and last year’s mortgage rate rises will hold back some segments of the market in the first half of the year, but our leading market indicators may start to identify some green shoots of growth that will go onto strength in the second half of 2023."

In corporate news, Sainsbury’s was up after the supermarket chain said it had signed a new deal with Just Eat to provide rapid grocery delivery.

Marks & Spencer was in the black after it announced the opening of 20 new stores and the creation of 3,400 jobs.

Ashmore fell even as it posted a 2% rise in second-quarter assets under management to $57.2bn, with the investment manager hailing a strong performance from emerging markets.

Outside the FTSE 350, guarantor lender Amigo tumbled after saying it had failed to secure a commitment from a cornerstone investor to underwrite the whole of its £45m capital raise and that it is now looking for a syndicate of investors.

ITM Power also slid after issuing its third profit warning in eight months.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,856.89 0.16%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,995.37 0.21%
techMARK (TASX) 4,536.63 -0.04%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Melrose Industries (MRO) 153.90p 2.57%
Prudential (PRU) 1,319.50p 2.05%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 117.00p 1.96%
Halma (HLMA) 2,160.00p 1.65%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,822.00p 1.50%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,064.00p 1.34%
Unite Group (UTG) 995.50p 1.27%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,333.00p 1.24%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,951.50p 1.19%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 159.14p 1.16%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Beazley (BEZ) 642.50p -2.28%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,136.00p -2.20%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 107.14p -1.49%
National Grid (NG.) 1,020.50p -1.21%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 12,320.00p -1.20%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 6,145.00p -1.19%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,905.50p -1.04%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,199.00p -0.86%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 117.30p -0.85%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,741.00p -0.80%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ascential (ASCL) 219.40p 5.68%
888 Holdings (DI) (888) 93.30p 4.54%
ASOS (ASC) 772.50p 3.69%
Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 174.20p 2.47%
Man Group (EMG) 234.30p 2.31%
Playtech (PTEC) 538.00p 2.18%
Digital 9 Infrastructure NPV (DGI9) 93.00p 2.09%
JTC (JTC) 785.00p 1.95%
Carnival (CCL) 774.60p 1.95%
Safestore Holdings (SAFE) 1,001.00p 1.93%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 164.45p -3.83%
Marshalls (MSLH) 311.20p -3.59%
Quilter (QLT) 100.85p -2.70%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 120.15p -2.40%
Investec (INVP) 528.00p -2.11%
Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 537.00p -2.01%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 746.00p -1.71%
Drax Group (DRX) 660.00p -1.71%
Rotork (ROR) 328.20p -1.68%
Just Group (JUST) 83.90p -1.64%