London midday: Stocks pare losses ahead of Wall Street open

London stocks had pared losses to trade flat by midday amid news of a shake-up for the asset management industry.

The FTSE 100 was steady at 7,436.55, while the pound was off 0.1% against the euro at 1.1291 and up 0.1% against the dollar at 1.2824 as Bank of England deputy governor Jon Cunliffe said now is not the right time to raise interest rates.

Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "Though this may have pushed sterling to a fresh seven and a half month low against the euro, cable is still sitting pretty above $1.28 after Donald Trump’s domestic agenda was dealt another blow with the latest delay to the Senate healthcare vote on Tuesday night."

Meanwhile, oil prices were down but off earlier lows after the latest report from the American Petroleum Institute showed US crude inventories rose by 851,000 barrels last week versus expectations for a 3.3 barrel drop. West Texas Intermediate was 0.4% lower at $44.08 a barrel and Brent crude was off 0.1% to $46.61.

Investors were also digesting the latest survey from mortgage lender Nationwide, which showed house prices in the UK rebounded in June. Prices were up 1.1% on the month following a 0.2% drop the month before. On an annual basis, they rose 3.1%, up from 2.1% growth in May. Economists had been expecting prices to be flat on the month and up 1.8% on the year.

The average price of a house in the UK increased from £208,711 in May to £211,301 in June, with prices in London rising at the slowest annual pace since 2012, 1.2% higher on the year.

In corporate news, Hargreaves Lansdown was the biggest loser on the FTSE 100 after the Financial Conduct Authority called for asset managers to overhaul their charging structures and prices following a near two-year consultation on the £7trn industry. In the final findings of its asset management market study, the regulator said competition in the market is weak and greater transparency is needed on prices.

Stagecoach tumbled after it posted a 15% decline in full-year profit, while shares in Petra Diamonds slumped after it warned that its full-year results are likely to be below market expectations, with revenue around 8% to 9% below consensus on the back of lower production.

Going the other way, distribution and outsourcing group Bunzl rallied after it said revenue for the half year was expected to have increased by 7% at constant exchange rates due to the improved underlying growth of between 3% and 4% and a similar impact from acquisitions. It also announced the acquisition of three further businesses in Spain and Canada.

Electronics retail group Dixons Carphone was also in the black after its preliminary results beat expectations, with headline profit before tax of £501m, up 10%.

Property construction and services company Kier gained after saying it expects full-year underlying profits to be in line with expectations, while Tullow Oil reversed course to gush higher after a trading statement and operational update.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,436.55 0.03%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,505.60 -0.11%
techMARK (TASX) 3,587.82 -0.22%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Bunzl (BNZL) 2,394.00p 3.68%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 627.50p 3.46%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 575.00p 2.04%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,354.00p 1.73%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 342.00p 1.60%
Next (NXT) 4,016.00p 1.54%
BT Group (BT.A) 292.70p 1.46%
Tesco (TSCO) 171.45p 1.45%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 257.30p 1.26%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,141.00p 1.24%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,308.00p -2.17%
DCC (DCC) 6,925.00p -2.05%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 2,387.00p -1.36%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 326.50p -1.15%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,333.00p -0.98%
SEGRO (SGRO) 490.70p -0.97%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,479.00p -0.91%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 5,307.00p -0.75%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 279.80p -0.74%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,753.00p -0.74%

FTSE 250 - Risers

RPC Group (RPC) 754.50p 4.07%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 282.80p 2.99%
Kier Group (KIE) 1,254.00p 2.96%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 429.50p 2.85%
William Hill (WMH) 257.50p 2.71%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 179.50p 2.28%
AA (AA.) 223.50p 2.05%
Nex Group (NXG) 651.50p 1.96%
Bellway (BWY) 3,012.00p 1.45%
Evraz (EVR) 197.60p 1.39%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Stagecoach Group (SGC) 184.10p -9.62%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 105.20p -7.23%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 1,559.00p -4.47%
Sophos Group (SOPH) 451.40p -4.16%
Sanne Group (SNN) 602.50p -2.74%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,479.00p -2.44%
Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 984.00p -2.38%
FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 783.00p -2.37%
Sirius Minerals (SXX) 32.45p -2.14%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 246.20p -2.07%