London midday: Stocks maintain gains as Barclays rallies; Ukraine crisis eyed

London stocks were still in the black by midday on Wednesday, helped along by well-received results from Barclays, as investors kept an eye on developments in the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 7,522.54.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "The FTSE 100 managed a move higher on Wednesday despite the simmering tensions in Ukraine.

"The US seems to have ruled out any talks with the Russians until they pull back from the separatist regions in the Donbas region they occupied yesterday so the ball now appears to be in Vladimir Putin’s court.

"So far the sanctions imposed by the West aren’t as heavy as might have been expected and the market is apparently taking this a win amid hints Putin might be open to a diplomatic solution.

"However, predicting the Russian premier’s next move is a mug’s game and unfortunately until the situation is resolved the markets are likely to remain firmly on the edge."

In equity markets, investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown was the top gainer on the FTSE 100, having slumped a day earlier on the back of its half-year results.

Barclays was a high riser after the bank said annual profits more than doubled, boosted by economic recovery and the release of provisions for bad loans during the Covid pandemic. Barclays reported a record annual pre-tax profit of £8.4bn, up from £3.1bn in 2020.

Student accommodation company company Unite Group rallied after saying it swung to a full-year profit and striking an upbeat note on the outlook.

Cybersecurity firm Darktrace gained after it agreed to buy attack surface management company Cybersprint for €47.5m.

On the downside, precious metals miner Hochschild Mining fell despite reporting a rise in full-year core earnings as production bounced back and silver prices increased.

Rio Tinto edged lower even as the Anglo-Australian miner declared a massive final dividend as profits surged on the back of rising commodity prices.

Luxury car maker Aston Martin reversed earlier gains to trade lower despite posting a narrowing of its full-year losses as sales surged.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,522.54 0.38%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,085.15 0.44%
techMARK (TASX) 4,349.98 0.67%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,131.00p 3.29%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,448.00p 3.02%
Barclays (BARC) 195.56p 2.84%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,298.50p 2.45%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 120.84p 2.39%
3i Group (III) 1,333.50p 1.87%
BT Group (BT.A) 197.65p 1.59%
Ferguson (FERG) 11,335.00p 1.57%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 52.08p 1.50%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 2,785.00p 1.46%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Evraz (EVR) 265.40p -5.65%
Kingfisher (KGF) 304.40p -2.81%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,070.50p -2.73%
Fresnillo (FRES) 669.60p -1.62%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 3,517.00p -1.43%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,161.00p -1.19%
BP (BP.) 382.05p -1.15%
Shell (SHEL) 1,933.50p -1.08%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,739.50p -0.94%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 787.80p -0.93%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Unite Group (UTG) 1,047.50p 5.72%
TP Icap Group (TCAP) 126.00p 4.05%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 195.15p 3.34%
Darktrace (DARK) 354.00p 2.97%
Petershill Partners (PHLL) 214.50p 2.88%
Discoverie Group (DSCV) 787.00p 2.74%
Rank Group (RNK) 153.40p 2.54%
AJ Bell (AJB) 312.80p 2.49%
SSP Group (SSPG) 289.30p 2.48%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,612.50p 2.38%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 1,049.50p -4.42%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 98.30p -3.91%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 12.82p -2.95%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 1,360.00p -2.86%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 139.00p -2.39%
Fidelity Emerging Markets Limited Ptg NPV (FEML) 745.00p -1.97%
Countryside Partnerships (CSP) 287.20p -1.91%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 93.86p -1.82%
Volution Group (FAN) 487.00p -1.72%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,855.00p -1.59%