London open: Stocks edge down after Fed minutes; Shell in the red

London stocks edged lower in early trade on Thursday as investors mulled hawkish minutes from the US Federal Reserve and a disappointing update from Shell.

At 0900 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.2% at 7,570.96.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "More recent market rallies of both sides of the pond have tended to lack conviction, with any positive direction of travel seemingly unsustainable against a cocktail of concerns.

"Even though it was widely expected that the Federal Reserve minutes would confirm that the door was open to more aggressive monetary tightening if appropriate, the confirmation was enough to unsettle investors.

"Similarly, a raft of additional sanctions on Russia had been trailed and also came to pass. However, the lack of an obvious resolution to the current conflict is continuing to weigh on general sentiment, even before the true costs to the global economy become more measurable over the coming months."

On home shores, the latest survey from Halifax showed that house prices rose in March at the fastest pace in six months. Prices jumped 1.4% on the month, taking the average property price to a new record high of £282,753. On the year, prices were up 11%.

Russell Galley, managing director at Halifax, said: "The story behind such strong house price inflation remains unchanged: limited supply and strong demand, despite the prospect of increasing pressure on households’ finances. Although there is some recent evidence of more homes coming onto the market, the fundamental issue remains that too many buyers are chasing too few properties.

"The effect on house prices makes it increasingly difficult for first-time buyers looking to make their first step onto the ladder, but also challenges home movers who face ever bigger leaps to move up the rungs to a larger property."

In equity markets, Aviva was the worst performer on the FTSE 100 as it traded without entitlement to the dividend.

Shell gushed lower as the oil giant said it expected to book up to $5bn in post-tax write offs after its decision to exit Russia, adding that oil & gas earnings would be "significantly higher" on the back of surging prices.

Countryside Properties tumbled as it said annual profit would fall after the housebuilder published a damning review of its own operations. The company said it expanded too quickly and botched the acquisition of Westleigh in 2018. Project delays, poor workmanship and rising costs also affected the group at some sites.

On the upside, 888 Holding surged to the top of the FTSE 250 after it and Caesars Entertainment agreed a cut in the deal value of William Hill’s international assets due to tougher economic and regulatory conditions. 888 also unveiled plans to raise funds via a placing to help pay for its acquisition of the non-US operations.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,570.96 -0.22%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,067.35 -0.16%
techMARK (TASX) 4,368.01 0.19%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Airtel Africa (AAF) 142.60p 2.74%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 245.90p 1.95%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 10,620.00p 1.51%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,693.00p 1.01%
Diageo (DGE) 4,049.00p 0.95%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 549.60p 0.92%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 986.80p 0.86%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,214.00p 0.83%
British Land Company (BLND) 533.80p 0.79%
Fresnillo (FRES) 764.00p 0.79%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Aviva (AV.) 425.50p -4.21%
Abrdn (ABDN) 203.70p -3.46%
Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,023.00p -3.42%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,416.50p -3.01%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 517.40p -2.45%
Entain (ENT) 1,585.50p -2.22%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 44.28p -2.01%
Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 747.80p -1.99%
BP (BP.) 374.75p -1.60%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,253.00p -1.57%

FTSE 250 - Risers

888 Holdings (888) 244.80p 27.50%
Capricorn Energy (CNE) 215.00p 3.86%
Caledonia Investments (CLDN) 3,625.00p 3.13%
Workspace Group (WKP) 701.50p 2.63%
AJ Bell (AJB) 311.20p 2.50%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 147.00p 1.66%
XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 3,385.00p 1.65%
Helios Towers (HTWS) 118.30p 1.63%
Drax Group (DRX) 844.50p 1.56%
Derwent London (DLN) 3,230.00p 1.51%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Countryside Partnerships (CSP) 237.20p -14.86%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 163.20p -9.93%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 262.40p -5.78%
Savills (SVS) 1,071.00p -4.63%
Vistry Group (VTY) 923.00p -4.20%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 444.20p -4.02%
Unite Group (UTG) 1,121.00p -3.20%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 201.50p -3.12%
Polymetal International (POLY) 280.00p -3.11%
Marshalls (MSLH) 672.00p -2.96%