London open: FTSE steady ahead of Powell testimony

London stocks were steady in early trade on Tuesday as investors erred on the side of caution ahead of a testimony by US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.

At 0835 GMT, the FTSE 100 was flat at 7,933.95.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Caution is set to stay the name of the game on financial markets as investors await testimony from the world’s most influential central banker.

"With investors on tenterhooks about just how far interest rates will rise, and what effect this will have on the world’s largest economy, Fed chair Jerome Powell’s words in Washington as he speaks to senators later are likely to set off a ripple effect through indices. Any hint that he's swirling the latest data and is finding a pattern of inflation that’s stubbornly hard to shift, could trigger fresh falls in equities, and may see bond yields edge up."

On home shores, an industry survey showed that retail sales sparked in February, as consumers splashed out on Valentine’s Day presents.

According to the latest BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor, UK like-for-like sales rose 4.9% year-on-year, or by 5.2% on a total basis. Within that, like-for-like food sales rose 8.2% while non-food sales increased 2.7%.

In January, sales rose 3.9% on a like-for-like basis and by 4.2% on a total basis.

The three categories that saw the biggest uptick in sales were health and beauty, food, and jewellery and watches.

Elsewhere, the latest survey from Halifax showed that house prices rose in February as mortgage rates fell and consumer confidence improved.

Prices increased 1.1% on the month following a 0.2% rise in January, to £285,476.

On the year, meanwhile, house price growth was unchanged at 2.1% last month. This was the third month in a row that annal growth was unchanged.

The survey showed that the rate of annual growth slowed in all nations and regions during February.

In equity markets, Fresnillo lost its shine after the gold and silver miner said profits more than halved in 2022 amid volatility in precious metals prices and increased cost pressures.

Spirent tumbled after it posted a rise in full-year profit and revenue as the order book grew, but cautioned over a more challenging first half of 2023.

High street baker Greggs nudged lower after it reported a 2% rise in annual profits, as inflation and higher costs hit the bottom line and said like-for-like sales in company-managed shops up was up 18.8% in the first nine weeks of 2023, in line with expectations.

Keller lost ground as the geotechnical engineering company posted a fall in full-year earnings as inflation, higher costs and the war in Ukraine took their toll.

On the upside, equipment rental firm Ashtead rallied after it said full-year results were set to be ahead of its expectations following a strong third-quarter performance, as it highlighted "robust" end markets.

Wood Group was also up after saying it was minded to reject a fourth takeover approach from Apollo Global Management at 237p a share as it continues to undervalue the business.

Just Group surged as it said full-year underlying profits grew 19%, while Premier Foods shot higher as the Mr Kipling owner upgraded its full-year profit expectations, pointing to a continued strong performance.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,933.95 0.05%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,068.13 0.02%
techMARK (TASX) 4,662.09 -0.43%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,910.00p 2.85%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 160.60p 2.36%
Beazley (BEZ) 621.50p 1.80%
Haleon (HLN) 322.65p 1.78%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 519.20p 1.53%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 7,538.00p 0.72%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 119.75p 0.71%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 52.13p 0.70%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 2,995.00p 0.67%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 227.80p 0.62%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Vodafone Group (VOD) 99.49p -1.71%
Abrdn (ABDN) 232.70p -1.44%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,145.00p -1.38%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 2,502.00p -0.99%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 524.60p -0.98%
Pearson (PSON) 855.60p -0.90%
Fresnillo (FRES) 754.00p -0.84%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 263.50p -0.79%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 714.00p -0.64%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,999.00p -0.60%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Wood Group (John) (WG.) 221.10p 13.91%
Premier Foods (PFD) 126.40p 9.91%
Just Group (JUST) 89.45p 9.22%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 157.10p 4.52%
IntegraFin Holding (IHP) 283.00p 3.28%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 285.00p 3.22%
Mitie Group (MTO) 81.50p 2.77%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 150.80p 2.38%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 2,808.00p 1.81%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 1,280.00p 1.11%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Spirent Communications (SPT) 186.80p -11.47%
Clarkson (CKN) 3,175.00p -5.65%
Keller Group (KLR) 785.00p -3.09%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 243.00p -2.41%
UK Commercial Property Reit Limited (UKCM) 53.50p -2.37%
International Distributions Services (IDS) 240.10p -1.84%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,975.00p -1.82%
Future (FUTR) 1,322.00p -1.78%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 258.50p -1.34%
Moonpig Group (MOON) 127.00p -1.32%