London open: FTSE tumbles amid US recession fears

London stocks fell sharply in early trade on Thursday as worries about a US recession dented sentiment and as investors waded through a barrage of corporate releases.

At 0855 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 1.1% at 8,075.98.

JPMorgan said in a research note on Wednesday that there is now a 35% chance the US economy will enter recession by the end of this year, up from 25% last month.

The bank said said US news "hints at a sharper-than-expected weakening in labour demand and early signs of labour shedding".

If a US recession doesn’t happen this year, JPM said there was a 45% chance it would happen by the second half of next year.

Patrick Munnelly at Tickmill Group said: "Despite assurances from US Fed officials that the world's largest economy is not headed for a recession, stocks wilted under pressure amid concerns about the outlook for the U.S. economy.

"As a result, Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Thursday, following the generally weak handover from Wall Street overnight. In addition, increased geopolitical tensions are negatively impacting the markets."

In equity markets, Spirax-Sarco tumbled as its first-half pre-tax profit came in 10% below consensus estimates amid challenging trading conditions.

Recruiter PageGroup was in the red as it posted a slump in first-half profit as revenue fell in "challenging" market conditions.

Hill & Smith and Helios Towers also lost ground on results.

On the upside, Beazley surged to the top of the FTSE 100 as it delivered a record first-half profit of $728.9m.

Entain rallied as the sports betting and gaming group lifted its full-year guidance after a stronger-than-expected second quarter.

Housebuilder Persimmon advanced as it reported a decline in first-half pre-tax profit but said it was on track to deliver full-year completions at the top end of guidance.

Hikma, CRH, TI Fluid Systems and Lancashire Holdings also rose on the back of well-received results.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,075.98 -1.11%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,333.52 -1.18%
techMARK (TASX) 4,735.22 -0.65%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Beazley (BEZ) 706.00p 10.83%
Entain (ENT) 572.20p 9.32%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,989.00p 8.10%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 6,304.00p 2.64%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,570.50p 2.08%
GSK (GSK) 1,546.50p 0.75%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 14,440.00p 0.66%
Darktrace (DARK) 596.20p 0.17%
Diageo (DGE) 2,406.00p 0.00%
RELX FINANCE BV 3.375% GTD NTS 20/03/33 (BW73) 99.72p 0.00%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Spirax Group (SPX) 7,845.00p -8.08%
BT Group (BT.A) 129.05p -5.04%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,047.00p -3.97%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 796.60p -3.44%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 323.40p -3.35%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,092.00p -3.23%
Fresnillo (FRES) 527.50p -3.21%
Prudential (PRU) 624.00p -3.08%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,138.00p -2.86%
Glencore (GLEN) 393.10p -2.75%

FTSE 250 - Risers

TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 126.80p 13.21%
W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 67.20p 5.00%
AO World (AO.) 114.00p 1.79%
Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 2,815.00p 1.44%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 288.00p 1.30%
PZ Cussons (PZC) 102.00p 0.99%
Clarkson (CKN) 3,780.00p 0.80%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,155.00p 0.61%
Foresight Solar Fund Limited (FSFL) 85.20p 0.59%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 5,520.00p 0.55%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Helios Towers (HTWS) 109.60p -10.31%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 75.10p -4.94%
Hill and Smith (HILS) 2,060.00p -4.63%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 128.20p -3.75%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 160.40p -3.61%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 392.20p -3.54%
Bloomsbury Publishing (BMY) 666.00p -3.48%
Man Group (EMG) 210.00p -3.40%
Just Group (JUST) 108.80p -3.37%
IntegraFin Holding (IHP) 346.00p -3.35%