London open: Informa paces the gains after guidance upgrade; fiscal statement eyed

London stocks rose in early trade on Monday as investors looked ahead to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s fiscal statement this week, with Informa surging ahead after a guidance upgrade.

At 0830 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 7,346.11, while sterling was down 0.2% against the dollar at 1.1807.

All eyes were on the fiscal statement due on Thursday.

Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The UK government is still on a report card, being closely monitored after the perceived economic bad behaviour of the short-lived Truss administration. That’s why Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Chancellor Jeremy Hunt have been priming the nation this weekend to expect widespread tax increases, and a cut back of spending in the Autumn Statement.

"Exploiting fiscal drag is set to be a big part of the plan, with the Treasury planning to recoup a big chunk of money by extending a freeze to tax brackets. Bringing more stealth taxes out of the red box, rather than wielding an even bigger axe to public spending would be more politically palatable.

"Increases to inheritance tax and Capital Gains tax will be particularly difficult for a Conservative government to put on the table but even so the expectation is that they will feature in the plan. It also looks increasingly likely that the Government will uprate benefits and pensions in line with inflation."

Investors were also mulling the latest survey from Rightmove, which showed that house prices fell last month as sellers rushed to secure deals against a backdrop of mounting financial uncertainty.

According to the Rightmove house price index, house prices fell 1.1% in November, taking the average asking price to £366,999. That compares to a 0.9% rise the month before. Year-on-year, house prices grew by 7.2%, compared to annual growth of 7.8% in October.

In equity markets, Informa was the standout gainer on the FTSE 100 as the events organiser lifted its full-year guidance, pointing to an improvement in demand.

The company now expects full-year revenue of between £2.3bn and £2.35bn and adjusted operating profit of £490m to £505m. Previously, it had guided to revenues of £2.15bn to £2.25bn and adjusted operating profit of between £470m and £490m.

Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: "The post-pandemic return to physical events has helped spur growth for Informa with B2B demand and academic markets enjoying impressive growth.

"It continues to target the US as a key growth area with the completion of its US data business acquisition Industry Dive. Informa also continued to return cash to shareholders with over £450m of its £725m share buyback programme now completed and the resumption of its ordinary dividend.

"Shares in Informa are outperforming the market this year, gaining almost 10% year-to-date and are enjoying particularly strong gains in today’s session."

Miners were also on the rise, with Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore all up.

Cybersecurity firm Darktrace rallied after it highlighted strong demand for its new 'Prevent' product family.

IT provider Kainos gained as it posted a jump in first-half profit and revenue amid strong underlying demand.

On the downside, housebuilder Redrow was knocked lower by a downgrade to ‘neutral’ at Citi, which cited a less attractive risk/reward.

Outside the FTSE 350, Joules was in focus as the fashion and lifestyle retailer said it had decided to call in administrators after failing to raise new funding, putting around 1,700 jobs at risk.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,346.11 0.38%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,647.60 0.16%
techMARK (TASX) 4,351.42 0.45%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Informa (INF) 575.40p 4.13%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,410.50p 1.78%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,451.00p 1.50%
Glencore (GLEN) 509.00p 1.39%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,018.00p 1.23%
BT Group (BT.A) 121.25p 1.21%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,225.00p 1.19%
Pearson (PSON) 947.80p 1.07%
Schroders (SDR) 478.50p 1.06%
Croda International (CRDA) 7,124.00p 0.91%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Harbour Energy (HBR) 367.70p -3.01%
Unite Group (UTG) 961.50p -1.08%
Centrica (CNA) 81.60p -0.85%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 1,280.50p -0.70%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 2,950.00p -0.61%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 383.30p -0.57%
DCC (CDI) (DCC) 4,490.00p -0.55%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,573.00p -0.46%
Experian (EXPN) 2,854.00p -0.45%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,038.00p -0.39%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Discoverie Group (DSCV) 894.00p 4.44%
Darktrace (DARK) 411.70p 3.99%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 163.00p 2.71%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 316.50p 2.43%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,200.00p 2.33%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 1,470.00p 2.23%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 988.00p 2.17%
Warehouse Reit (WHR) 120.80p 2.03%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 240.00p 1.91%
NB Private Equity Partners Ltd. (NBPE) 1,660.00p 1.84%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Ferrexpo (FXPO) 142.50p -3.85%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 145.20p -2.55%
OSB Group (OSB) 466.40p -1.98%
Caledonia Investments (CLDN) 3,850.00p -1.91%
TP Icap Group (TCAP) 178.70p -1.87%
Blackrock Throgmorton Trust (THRG) 622.00p -1.74%
Redrow (RDW) 462.60p -1.57%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 1,178.00p -1.42%
VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 399.50p -1.36%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 146.40p -1.35%