London midday: Stocks up but off highs as miners retreat

London stocks had pared gains by midday on Monday to trade just above the flat line, with Vodafone firmly in the black but miners under the cosh.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 7,470.17, as investors looked ahead to this week’s Bank of England policy announcement.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "Amid the global tightening cycle, the UK is also expected to raise interest rates again this week to 0.5% from the current 0.25% in an attempt to put the brakes on inflation, thus lessening the effect of the emerging cost of living crisis.

"The decision also comes at a fragile time, with the associated additional costs for businesses weighing against the assumed rise in hospitality and to some extent consumer sales, as the variant begins to subside and restrictions have all but disappeared."

In equity markets, Vodafone was the top gainer on the FTSE 100 following reports the telecoms company has been targeted by the activist investor Cevian, putting management under pressure to revamp its struggling performance. The Sweden-based investment firm has built up holdings in the communications giant in recent months, which has seen its share price almost halved in value since 2018.

Educational publisher Pearson also rose after saying it had bought the remaining 80% of skills verification operator Credly it does not own for an undisclosed sum.

Barratt Developments was higher after announcing the acquisition of Gladman Developments in a £250m deal.

On the downside, miners were among the worst performers as copper prices fell, with Rio Tinto, Anglo American and Glencore all down.

BT Group was also weaker as it emerged that rival Virgin Media O2 was looking to expand its fibre network through a joint venture.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,470.17 0.05%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,746.47 0.48%
techMARK (TASX) 4,418.48 0.41%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Vodafone Group (VOD) 132.26p 3.64%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 149.10p 3.54%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,063.00p 3.40%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 2,740.00p 2.81%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 13,145.00p 2.78%
Royal Mail (RMG) 443.30p 2.59%
SEGRO (SGRO) 1,310.50p 2.54%
3i Group (III) 1,357.50p 2.30%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 666.00p 1.93%
Electrocomponents (ECM) 1,117.00p 1.92%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 290.60p -2.84%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,238.00p -2.75%
Fresnillo (FRES) 616.40p -2.44%
Tesco (TSCO) 296.75p -2.19%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,924.00p -1.79%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,264.50p -1.72%
Next (NXT) 7,458.00p -1.53%
BT Group (BT.A) 194.20p -1.42%
Glencore (GLEN) 388.00p -1.34%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 8,653.00p -1.30%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 324.00p 6.93%
XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 4,765.00p 6.24%
HarbourVest Global Private Equity Limited A Shs (HVPE) 2,820.00p 4.83%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,140.00p 4.65%
Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 282.50p 4.24%
Tyman (TYMN) 370.00p 3.64%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 103.10p 3.10%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 315.80p 2.93%
Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon (BGS) 173.80p 2.84%
BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust (BRSC) 1,824.00p 2.82%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

NCC Group (NCC) 189.00p -5.74%
Playtech (PTEC) 588.50p -4.23%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 223.80p -3.20%
National Express Group (NEX) 243.20p -3.11%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 244.30p -2.67%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 268.20p -2.61%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 262.50p -2.42%
Synthomer (SYNT) 364.40p -2.41%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 213.00p -2.34%
Greencore Group (CDI) (GNC) 121.70p -2.25%