London open: Stocks edge lower ahead of US data; AstraZeneca in focus
London stocks edged lower in early trade on Friday, with AstraZeneca under the cosh after results, as investors eyed a number of data releases due across the pond.
At 0905 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 7,361.88.
Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said: "Inflation is front of mind for investors this week after the US CPI report, which has driven a sharp rally in gold and the US dollar.
"Today’s University of Michigan inflation expectations will be closely watched, although it is unlikely to drive any material shift in the post-CPI momentum. Expectations are forecast to rise to 5% from 4.8% last month. We’re also watching the UoM consumer sentiment data and JOLTS job openings - a marker for the health of the US labour market, although these days not such a great signal due to the massive mis-matches and dislocation in the market post-pandemic."
In equity markets, AstraZeneca fell after its quarterly profit missed expectations but the company said it would start making a profit from its Covid vaccine from the fourth quarter onwards.
Wood Group slumped after cutting its full-year revenue and earnings guidance, while software group Aveva was knocked lower by a downgrade to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’ at Jefferies.
On the upside, Burberry and B&M European Value gained, having fallen sharply a day earlier on the back of results.
Housebuilder Redrow was also on the rise after saying it expects 2022 results to be similar to those achieved in 2019.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,361.88 -0.30%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,523.97 -0.21%
techMARK (TASX) 4,626.54 -0.33%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,913.00p 2.77%
ITV (ITV) 126.00p 2.07%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,790.00p 1.59%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 616.80p 1.48%
3i Group (III) 1,448.50p 1.36%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,619.00p 1.10%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,794.00p 1.05%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,470.00p 1.00%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 683.80p 0.91%
BT Group (BT.A) 165.70p 0.85%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Darktrace (DARK) 593.00p -2.63%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 9,203.00p -2.55%
Aveva Group (AVV) 3,317.00p -2.01%
Entain (ENT) 1,986.50p -1.90%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 5,010.00p -1.80%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,548.50p -1.78%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,222.00p -1.65%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 166.38p -1.64%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 143.06p -1.61%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 5,016.00p -1.45%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Helios Towers (HTWS) 159.40p 5.56%
JTC (JTC) 829.00p 4.67%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 395.20p 2.28%
Tyman (TYMN) 399.50p 1.91%
Redrow (RDW) 639.60p 1.91%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,185.00p 1.63%
C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 255.80p 1.51%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 236.00p 1.51%
Volution Group (FAN) 507.00p 1.50%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 5,095.00p 1.49%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 184.05p -8.43%
Molten Ventures (GROW) 957.00p -6.91%
Reach (RCH) 330.50p -2.94%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 1,262.00p -2.92%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 538.00p -2.54%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 78.30p -2.25%
Carnival (CCL) 1,542.60p -2.22%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 302.60p -2.20%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 228.90p -2.01%
TP Icap Group (TCAP) 140.48p -1.97%