London midday: Stocks trade moderately lower as investors keep wary eye on Ukraine
London stocks are trading modestly lower on Friday as investors digest reports of further Russian attacks against infrastructure assets in western Ukraine, near to the border with Poland.
At GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.55% at 7,344.86, alongside a 0.68% drop on the second-tier index to 20,832.56.
Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Equity markets remain highly sensitive to the repercussions of the conflict and as fighting enters the fourth week, there still seems a gulf separating Russian and Ukrainian negotiators.
"Russian aggression is expected to be discussed on a difficult call between the US President and China’s premier later which is causing nervousness given it comes at a sensitive diplomatic time between Russia and the US. Reports that Joe Biden will tell Xi Jinping that Beijing will pay a price if it supports Russia, has done little to calm worries about the potential escalation of the geopolitical situation.
"With the corporate world having built up a solid fortress to isolate Russia from the global economy, the US clearly wants to ensure Russia can’t find an escape route to avoid the effectiveness of sanctions."
In equity markets, pub chain JD Wetherspoon shares were little changed despite saying it halved interim pre-tax losses as Covid restrictions eased and that trading in the last three weeks was now 2.6% below 2019 pre-pandemic levels.
Investec lost ground even as it lifted full-year profit guidance, driven by the post-pandemic economic recovery.
Vodafone advanced slightly following a Reuters report that global infrastructure funds have approached the company to invest in its $16bn mast company Vantage Towers.
Vital components manufacturer Essentra was up as it hailed a "strong" full-year trading performance, driven by accelerated growth in the final quarter of the year.
Power generation company ContourGlobal was also among the risers as it reported a record full-year financial performance and said trading in the current financial year was ahead of the board’s expectations.
Drinks maker C&C fizzed higher after an upgrade to 'buy' at Shore Capital, while Softcat was lifted by an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Berenberg.
Outside the FTSE 350, Ted Baker surged after US private equity firm Sycamore Partners confirmed it was in the early stages of considering a possible cash offer for the fashion retailer.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,342.93 -0.57%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,838.44 -0.65%
techMARK (TASX) 4,303.92 -0.76%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Fresnillo (FRES) 740.20p 1.29%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,164.00p 1.26%
Polymetal International (POLY) 141.85p 1.25%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 127.52p 1.24%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 573.80p 1.06%
Glencore (GLEN) 479.90p 1.01%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,602.50p 0.85%
Kingfisher (KGF) 287.10p 0.70%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 48.30p 0.64%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,668.50p 0.40%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
ITV (ITV) 82.76p -3.59%
Pearson (PSON) 785.80p -3.01%
Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,442.00p -2.71%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 129.05p -2.60%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,681.50p -2.44%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 91.91p -2.41%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 143.10p -2.39%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 9,148.00p -2.37%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 138.90p -2.31%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,231.00p -2.11%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Softcat (SCT) 1,699.00p 4.30%
OSB Group (OSB) 563.00p 3.40%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 426.80p 3.19%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 264.00p 2.92%
JPMorgan Japanese Inv Trust (JFJ) 515.00p 2.39%
Capricorn Energy (CNE) 203.20p 2.06%
Bellevue Healthcare Trust (Red) (BBH) 177.20p 1.84%
Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 230.00p 1.77%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 36.72p 1.60%
Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon (BGS) 171.20p 1.54%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Molten Ventures (GROW) 696.00p -6.70%
Trainline (TRN) 201.00p -5.90%
SSP Group (SSPG) 242.10p -4.98%
Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 123.00p -4.80%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 1.80p -4.76%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 134.00p -4.63%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 230.90p -4.11%
Reach (RCH) 191.80p -3.42%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 154.40p -3.32%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 90.58p -3.19%