London midday: Stocks rise after slate of corporate earnings

London stocks edged higher on Tuesday as traders digested a raft of corporate earnings.

Standard Chartered was a standout riser as it reported an improvement in impairment losses on bad loans in the first quarter to $471m from $476m in the same period last year. Investors seemed to overlook a 59% drop in first quarter profit amid depressed commodity prices, volatility in Chinese markets and weak emerging market sentiment.

BP also gained despite posting a pre-tax loss of $865m in the first quarter, compared to a $2.2bn profit in the first quarter of 2015, as it kept its dividend unchanged at 10 cents.

Whitbread lost its steam after reporting a rise in full year underlying pre-tax profit and revenue, as Numis said it expects "lack-lustre" earnings growth in the near term due to the need for investment and a more competitive market.

Cobham slumped after the aerospace and defence group proposed a £500m rights issue in the second quarter of the year as it reported a big drop in first-quarter trading profit.

Meanwhile, housebuilders rallied as data showed a jump in gross mortgage borrowing in March. Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Developments were among the risers.

The British Banker’s Association said gross mortgage borrowing came to £17.1bn in March, up 64% compared to year ago and 29.5% compared to February. BBA said the rise was driven by the purchase of buy-to-let properties and second homes ahead of higher stamp duty charges on 1 April.

Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said he sees the housing marketing slowing as buyer interest fades following the introduction of extra stamp duty charges and due to uncertainty ahead of Britain’s European Union referendum on 23 June.

However, he still sees housing market activity holding up "reasonably well" as buyer interest is supported by high employment and low interest rates.

"Consequently, while house price growth may ease back from current levels, we still expect house prices to rise by around 6% over 2016 – with support coming from a relative shortage of properties as well as decent buyer interest."

In a downbeat note for retail sector, Austin Reed is reportedly set to become the second iconic British name to go into administration this week. The news comes a day after fellow high street retailer BHS announced it was going into administration, putting 11,000 jobs at risk.

In commodities, oil prices rebounded from declines in the previous session as the US dollar weakened. Brent crude rose 0.69% to $44.79 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate climbed 0.69% to $42.94 per barrel at 1129 BST.

Looking ahead to afternoon trade, the US will see a batch of economic data including durable goods orders at 1330 BST, S&P/Case Shiller home price index at 1400 BST, Markit’s services PMI at 1445 BST and the consumer confidence index at 1500 BST.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,281.00 0.32%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 16,970.70 0.03%
techMARK (TASX) 3,084.61 -1.02%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Standard Chartered (STAN) 573.40p 10.14%
BP (BP.) 375.90p 4.32%
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 8,650.00p 3.28%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 471.85p 2.68%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,970.00p 2.66%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 183.80p 2.57%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,123.00p 2.56%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 69.12p 2.26%
Intu Properties (INTU) 302.60p 1.92%
British Land Company (BLND) 717.00p 1.92%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Relx plc (REL) 1,220.00p -2.01%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,009.00p -1.84%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 915.50p -1.56%
Glencore (GLEN) 152.70p -1.48%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 933.00p -1.43%
Anglo American (AAL) 670.10p -1.33%
Kingfisher (KGF) 361.30p -1.12%
Unilever (ULVR) 3,151.50p -1.11%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,051.00p -0.94%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,461.50p -0.88%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 522.00p 4.67%
BGEO Group (BGEO) 2,243.00p 3.75%
Bellway (BWY) 2,420.00p 3.24%
Drax Group (DRX) 316.80p 2.86%
Assura (AGR) 55.80p 2.76%
Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 2,178.00p 2.69%
Workspace Group (WKP) 838.50p 2.63%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 782.50p 2.42%
Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 190.30p 2.31%
AO World (AO.) 181.60p 2.31%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Cobham (COB) 172.30p -19.93%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 299.20p -3.27%
Paysafe Group (PAYS) 375.40p -2.72%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,160.00p -2.27%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,258.00p -2.08%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 103.50p -2.08%
Essentra (ESNT) 839.00p -1.64%
IMI (IMI) 946.00p -1.56%
Evraz (EVR) 142.00p -1.53%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 90.55p -1.52%