London open: Stocks edge higher ahead of manufacturing data

Stocks in London were a little higher in early trade as investors digested Chinese data and sifted through earnings from the likes of Shell and BP, ahead of the latest reading on the UK manufacturing sector.

At 0835 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.4% to 6,982.62.

Meanwhile, the pound was 0.1% higher versus the dollar at $1.2262 after rebounding late on Monday on news that Bank of England governor Mark Carney will remain in his post until 2019, which is a year longer than his initial term.

Investors were looking ahead to the UK manufacturing purchasing managers’ index at 0930 GMT.

CMC Markets’ Michael Hewson said: “In September the manufacturing sector in the UK experienced a Lazarus like rebound at the end of the quarter, jumping to 55.4, having been in contraction at the beginning of the quarter. In October the expectation is slightly more modest but nonetheless we still expect to see a decent number of 54.6.”

Earlier, both the Bank of Japan and the Reserve Bank of Australia stood pat on their monetary policies.

In China, the official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index increased to 51.2 in October from 50.4 the month before. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.

Meanwhile, the Caixin manufacturing PMI edged up to 51.2 in October from 50.1 in September. Both readings were better than expected.

In corporate news, the energy sector was in focus as oil giants BP and Shell reported their earnings.

BP was under the cosh after it said underlying third-quarter profits halved compared to last year, although the fall was not as bad as feared.

However, Royal Dutch Shell fared a lot better, gaining more than 3% as its third-quarter profits beat analysts’ expectations.

FTSE 250 transport operator Go-Ahead nudged higher after saying its expectations for the full year remain unchanged, as it reported “robust” trading in the first quarter despite a series of Southern Rail strikes.

Weir Group slumped as it said full-year 2016 profit was likely to be slightly below market expectations due to tough trading conditions.

Virgin Money slipped despite reporting a rise in gross mortgage lending for the nine months to the end of September and expressing confidence that the Brexit vote would not affect its full-year performance.

Moneysupermarket surged as it said it was on track to meet forecasts for a record year after a resurge in insurance offset a flat period for credit card and loan switching in the third quarter.

Premier Oil gushed higher after saying its lenders have approved another monthly deferral of its financial covenant test.

On the data front, the UK manufacturing purchasing managers’ index is at 0930 GMT. In the US, construction spending and ISM manufacturing are at 1400 GMT.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,986.17 0.46%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,551.15 0.04%
techMARK (TASX) 3,363.96 -0.09%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Informa (INF) 697.50p 3.72%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,183.00p 3.22%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,095.50p 2.80%
Prudential (PRU) 1,359.00p 1.84%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,151.00p 1.77%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,728.50p 1.69%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 551.50p 1.57%
Tesco (TSCO) 213.70p 1.40%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 318.50p 1.21%
Polymetal International (POLY) 901.50p 1.18%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

BP (BP.) 474.05p -2.00%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 223.50p -1.32%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,169.00p -1.18%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,560.50p -0.60%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,609.00p -0.59%
Barclays (BARC) 189.25p -0.55%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 3,400.00p -0.53%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 57.02p -0.42%
Provident Financial (PFG) 2,938.00p -0.41%
BT Group (BT.A) 374.50p -0.39%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 278.70p 6.41%
Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG) 226.10p 3.53%
Caledonia Investments (CLDN) 2,400.00p 3.18%
NCC Group (NCC) 195.30p 3.06%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 193.70p 2.05%
UK Commercial Property Trust (UKCM) 79.65p 1.98%
Ladbrokes Coral Group (LCL) 136.10p 1.87%
Zoopla Property Group (ZPLA) 309.30p 1.61%
Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) 90.00p 1.52%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 294.35p 1.50%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Weir Group (WEIR) 1,631.00p -4.06%
BTG (BTG) 635.00p -3.50%
Rotork (ROR) 197.70p -3.09%
Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 436.20p -2.46%
Marshalls (MSLH) 268.70p -1.93%
Senior (SNR) 171.60p -1.55%
Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 284.40p -1.35%
Diploma (DPLM) 926.00p -1.23%
Just Eat (JE.) 556.00p -1.07%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 272.20p -1.02%