London midday: Stocks push higher amid corporate deluge

London stocks had extended gains by midday on Thursday, helped along by well-received results from the likes of Unilever, LSEG and Barclays, and a strong showing from Tesla after hours.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.6% at 8,307.47.

Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "“The FTSE 100 has opened up this morning on what’s set to be a busy day for corporate news on the London market.

"This will follow the worst day in six weeks for US stocks, where rising Treasury yields are pouring cold water on hopes of more aggressive rate cuts by the Fed. If today’s initial jobless claims come in much below consensus forecasts of 242,000, that could send a further signal to rate setters not to overdo it on the loosening front.

"Nvidia, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft, and Tesla all lost ground. However, the electric carmaker rebounded strongly in after-hours trading, after topping analyst estimates."

On the macro front, a survey out earlier showed that private sector growth in the UK fell to an 11-month low in October ahead of the Budget next week.

The S&P Global flash purchasing managers’ index composite output index declined to 51.7 from 52.6 in September. This was in line with analysts’ expectations. A reading above 50.0 indicates growth, while a reading below signals contraction.

The services PMI business activity index printed at 51.8 in October, down from 52.4 a month earlier and also an 11-month low.

Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: "Business activity growth has slumped to its lowest for nearly a year in October as gloomy government rhetoric and uncertainty ahead of the Budget has dampened business confidence and spending. Companies await clarity on government policy, with conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, as well as the US elections, adding to the nervousness about the economic outlook.

"The early PMI data are indicative of the economy growing at a meagre 0.1% quarterly rate in October, reflecting a broad-based slowing of business activity, spending and demand across both manufacturing and services.

"Worryingly, the deterioration in business confidence in the outlook has also prompted companies to reduce headcounts for the first time this year."

Williamson said the policies announced in the Budget have the potential to play a major role in steering the direction of the economy in the months ahead.

"Encouragingly, however, a further cooling of input cost inflation to the lowest for four years opens the door for the Bank of England to take a more aggressive stance towards lowering interest rates, should the current slowdown become more entrenched," he added.

In equity markets, Anglo American was in the black after the diversified mining giant raised platinum and nickel production guidance following a steady third quarter.

London Stock Exchange was a high riser as it hailed a particularly strong third quarter, with "healthy" growth in the subscriptions business.

Barclays gained as it nudged up its net interest income guidance for the full year and said it is on track to deliver against its short and medium-term targets. The bank said it expects 2024 net interest income excluding investment bank and head office activities from around £11bn to be "greater than £11bn".

Consumer goods giant Unilever rallied as it reported a jump in third-quarter underlying sales, underpinned by its power brands. Underlying sales grew 4.5%, coming in ahead of analysts’ expectations for 4.2% growth, with volume growth up 3.6%.

Quilter was boosted by an initiation at ‘buy’ at Jefferies.

IT infrastructure services provider Softcat jumped as it revealed a special dividend payment following strong cash generation in the year to 31 July.

Opioid addiction treatment maker Indivior was also up after results, while homeware retailer Dunelm reversed earlier losses to trade higher after it posted a 3.5% jump in third-quarter sales, driven by volume.

Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury Publishing surged as it upgraded its full-year expectations following record first-half profit and revenue.

On the downside, BAE Systems fell as it traded without entitlement to the dividend.

Abrdn also fell lost ground as it said it was hit by £3.1bn of outflows in the third quarter.

Travis Perkins slumped as it cut its FY24 adjusted operating profit guidance to around £135m from £150m previously.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,307.47 0.59%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,866.90 0.18%
techMARK (TASX) 4,767.19 0.42%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Anglo American (AAL) 2,420.00p 4.15%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,812.00p 3.42%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 10,735.00p 3.37%
Barclays (BARC) 246.15p 3.36%
Fresnillo (FRES) 777.50p 1.83%
BP (BP.) 409.30p 1.64%
Entain (ENT) 727.20p 1.42%
Glencore (GLEN) 405.25p 1.24%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,833.00p 1.19%
Centrica (CNA) 124.65p 1.09%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Bunzl (BNZL) 3,476.00p -1.97%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 551.40p -1.78%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 154.70p -1.78%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 8,432.00p -1.70%
Schroders (SDR) 356.80p -1.65%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,579.50p -1.34%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,660.00p -1.27%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,307.00p -1.21%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,654.00p -1.12%
SSE (SSE) 1,873.00p -1.03%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Softcat (SCT) 1,725.00p 12.60%
Indivior (INDV) 731.00p 11.86%
Bloomsbury Publishing (BMY) 742.00p 8.80%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 246.00p 4.24%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 740.00p 3.93%
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 497.40p 3.62%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 822.00p 3.27%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 277.00p 3.20%
Harworth Group (HWG) 183.00p 2.81%
NCC Group (NCC) 165.00p 2.74%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Abrdn (ABDN) 149.90p -8.57%
Inchcape (INCH) 719.00p -5.70%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 874.50p -5.15%
Foresight Solar Fund Limited (FSFL) 86.90p -2.36%
Sequoia Economic Infrastructure Income Fund Limited (SEQI) 77.60p -2.14%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 253.50p -1.74%
Bank of Georgia Group (BGEO) 3,990.00p -1.72%
Pennon Group (PNN) 583.00p -1.69%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 11,840.00p -1.42%
SThree (STEM) 363.50p -1.36%