London open: FTSE nudges down in very quiet trade

London stocks nudged lower in early trade on Friday in very quiet trade, with no news of any note to move markets as most traders were still away from their desks for the Christmas and new year break.

At 0840 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 8,128.47.

Data released earlier by restructuring firm Begbies Traynor showed the number of UK retailers facing "critical" financial problems rose more than 25% in the last three months.

Begbies Traynor said there were 2,124 retailers in "critical financial distress" between October and 16 December, up from 1,696 between July and September. Still, this was a little lower than the 2,142 reported in the last quarter of 2023.

Begbies put the jump down to subdued consumer confidence and rising costs.

Julie Palmer, a partner at Begbies Traynor, said: "This year has highlighted the resilience and adaptability of some UK retailers, but the sector remains under significant strain.

"Clearly, some retailers have found ways to manage financial pressures effectively, but others, particularly in general retail, are struggling under the weight of rising operational costs and squeezed consumer spending."

Corporate news was unsurprisingly scarce, but life science investor Syncona gained as it said its investment Achilles Therapeutics has sold technology assets to AstraZeneca for $12m (£9.58m).

The deal involves transferring of the commercial license of data and samples from Achilles’ TRACERx non-small cell lung cancer study to AstraZeneca, including samples and data.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,128.47 -0.10%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,522.00 -0.24%
techMARK (TASX) 4,611.06 -0.25%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Smith (DS) (SMDS) 551.50p 0.91%
BP (BP.) 384.25p 0.79%
Entain (ENT) 686.60p 0.76%
Prudential (PRU) 638.00p 0.76%
Kingfisher (KGF) 249.60p 0.69%
Diageo (DGE) 2,512.00p 0.58%
Pearson (PSON) 1,285.00p 0.51%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 995.80p 0.50%
Barclays (BARC) 264.85p 0.49%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,053.00p 0.49%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Anglo American (AAL) 2,347.50p -1.43%
Croda International (CRDA) 3,421.00p -0.90%
National Grid (NG.) 936.00p -0.87%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 67.18p -0.86%
Haleon (HLN) 379.30p -0.81%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 4,281.00p -0.65%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,830.00p -0.62%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 11,255.00p -0.62%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,941.00p -0.61%
Rightmove (RMV) 655.20p -0.61%

FTSE 250 - Risers

W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 82.80p 3.50%
Ithaca Energy (ITH) 110.30p 3.08%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 76.15p 2.70%
Discoverie Group (DSCV) 733.00p 2.66%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 626.50p 2.62%
Indivior (INDV) 991.00p 2.38%
Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 1,288.00p 2.30%
Elementis (ELM) 142.00p 1.72%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 607.00p 1.51%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 785.00p 1.42%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 141.00p -5.69%
Foresight Group Holdings Limited NPV (FSG) 395.00p -4.13%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 3,065.00p -2.54%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 217.00p -1.81%
Premier Foods (PFD) 186.40p -1.79%
Rathbones Group (RAT) 1,662.00p -1.77%
Essentra (ESNT) 129.40p -1.52%
PRS Reit (The) (PRSR) 106.00p -1.49%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 64.55p -1.45%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 478.00p -1.44%