London open: FTSE edges up as all eyes remain on Ukraine crisis
London stocks edged higher in early trade on Tuesday, holding up better than their European counterparts, as all eyes remained firmly on the Ukraine crisis.
At 0905 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 7,470.91.
Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said: "The dreadful situation [in Ukraine] gets worse as heavy shelling of built-up areas shows us what is to come.
"Talks yesterday didn’t get far but the two sides have agreed to try again as a massive Russian convoy starts to encircle Kyiv. Bombing of civilians will harden Western public opinion against Russia - voters are already taking a pretty hard line across Europe. Unified public opinion complicates matters for governments who might prefer to base policy solely on the advice of their military intelligence and strategic advisors. But that is the way of things.
"For markets, this means the question of direct sanctions on oil and gas exports from Russia is a matter of when not if. Canada has already unilaterally banned Russian oil imports, though these are microscopic compared to Europe’s appetite for Russia’s crude and natural gas. Talk of a Nato-enforced no-fly zone needs to be ignored - who really wants the RAF to shoot down Russian jets and risk WW3? The problem of public opinion again..."
In equity markets, Russian steelmaker Evraz was the top gainer on the FTSE 100 following heavy losses in the previous session.
AstraZeneca pushed up after it and Swiss biotechnology firm Neurimmune agreed to develop an antibody-based therapy for a rare, underdiagnosed condition that leads to heart failure in a $760m deal.
Rotork also advanced even as the engineering group reported a fall in annual profits, while mining stocks rose in tandem with metals prices, with Rio, Anglo and Glencore all higher.
On the downside, Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment was the worst performer on the top-flight index after it said underlying annual profit fell as the gambling group was hit by a string of punter-friendly sporting results in the UK and Ireland.
Speciality chemicals firm Croda also declined sharply despite reporting a "record" full-year performance in terms of sales and profits and lifting its dividend as it said all of its business were trading ahead of pre-pandemic levels.
Asset manager Abrdn was in the red even as it said annual profit rose and posted higher full-year revenue for the first time since it was formed from a merger in 2017.
Daily Mirror publisher Reach slumped as it said higher newsprint inflation would result in a modest hit to 2022 operating profit, while reporting a rise in annual earnings last year.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,470.91 0.17%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,047.10 -0.16%
techMARK (TASX) 4,413.45 -0.56%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Evraz (EVR) 152.20p 5.15%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 153.76p 3.50%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 9,308.00p 2.75%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,557.50p 2.40%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,925.00p 2.31%
BT Group (BT.A) 190.40p 2.23%
Pearson (PSON) 660.40p 1.91%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 542.80p 1.88%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,893.00p 1.83%
Glencore (GLEN) 449.60p 1.68%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 9,772.00p -9.48%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,807.50p -5.07%
Croda International (CRDA) 7,162.00p -4.30%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,863.00p -3.57%
Abrdn (ABDN) 200.90p -2.81%
Entain (ENT) 1,639.00p -2.67%
St James's Place (STJ) 1,372.50p -2.21%
Aveva Group (AVV) 2,439.00p -2.05%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 6,448.00p -1.92%
SSE (SSE) 1,673.00p -1.85%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Mediclinic International (MDC) 339.80p 3.28%
Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 177.40p 3.02%
Rotork (ROR) 316.20p 2.46%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 3,485.00p 2.38%
Greggs (GRG) 2,635.00p 2.33%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 393.60p 2.23%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 172.70p 2.19%
Centrica (CNA) 78.94p 2.15%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 242.80p 2.10%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,658.00p 2.00%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Reach (RCH) 181.00p -20.44%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 6.96p -13.06%
XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 4,020.00p -7.37%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 326.50p -3.55%
Liontrust Asset Management (LIO) 1,464.00p -3.30%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 991.00p -3.13%
Future (FUTR) 2,576.00p -3.01%
Genus (GNS) 3,190.00p -2.74%
888 Holdings (888) 236.20p -2.48%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 145.70p -2.15%