London open: Stocks edge lower as investors eye oil; May heads to Brussels
London stocks edged lower in early trade, with oil prices in focus after heavy falls in the previous session that have left Brent crude sitting below $45 a barrel, as PM Theresa May set off to Brussels for the EU summit.
At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.5% to 7,412.79, while the pound was flat against the euro at 1.1347 and 0.1% lower versus the dollar at 1.2665. Sterling got a boost in the previous session when the Bank of England's chief economist, Andy Haldane, said he might vote for a rate hike in the second half of the year, given that a late policy action could require a steeper rate increase path in the future.
Oil prices were weaker but faring better than they did on Wednesday, when they fell to their lowest level in 10 months. West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude were down 0.1% to $42.48 a barrel and $44.78, respectively.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "Despite a brief bounce following yesterday’s larger than expected fall in US crude inventories the current oil glut fears aren’t receding, especially since ramped up production in places like Libya and America means OPEC’s ability to affect global output may be waning."
Oil giants BP and Shell gushed lower.
Prime Minister Theresa May is set to address leaders at the EU summit in Brussels later in the day to fill them in on her plans for the rights of EU citizens in the UK.
Meanwhile, talks between the Conservatives and Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party were ongoing as the two sides look to strike a deal to prop up the Tory government. The DUP has dismissed reports that it is looking for a £2bn investment in Northern Ireland, which includes extra funding for the NHS and infrastructure. Damian Green, the First Secretary of State, told BBC Radio 5Live that "it's possible we won't be able to agree" on a formal deal whereby the DUP backs the Tories.
In corporate news, Ultra Electronics slipped after the technology-focused defence and security products group said US government orders continued to be held back by the delayed national budget but that its full year expectations remained unchanged.
Wizz Air flew lower even as the budget airline opened its first UK base at London Luton Airport.
Go-Ahead was in the red after it said passenger revenue and journeys dropped 4% in the last year on Govia Thameslink Railway. Go-Ahead, FirstGroup and Stagecoach were all in focus as it emerged they have been shortlisted for the South Eastern rail franchise.
Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management were both in the red despite their £3.8bn proposed merger being cleared by the Competition and Markets Authority.
Saga was little changed as the provider of products for the over-50s said its insurance and travels business had enjoyed a "good" first quarter as it begins a major transition to a new business model.
Pharmaceutical group Shire was on the front foot after it said the European Medicines Agency has validated the marketing authorisation application for Veyvondi for the treatment of von Willebrand disease.
Barratt Developments nudged up after announcing that that Jessica White was joining the board of the company as an executive director and chief financial officer with immediate effect.
Imagination Technologies rocketed as it said it has formally put itself up for sale and is in talks about a potential takeover after receiving interest from "a number of parties" in recent weeks, while Rotork rallied after Morgan Stanley upped its stance on the stock to 'overweight' from 'underweight' and lifted the price target to 292p from 250p.
On the macroeconomic calendar, the CBI industrial trends survey is at 1100 BST.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,412.79 -0.47%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,618.75 -0.32%
techMARK (TASX) 3,618.48 0.14%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,535.50p 1.69%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,065.00p 1.00%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 3,576.00p 0.82%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,695.50p 0.74%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 5,434.00p 0.63%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 329.60p 0.58%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,387.00p 0.36%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,413.00p 0.29%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,624.00p 0.25%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,551.00p 0.19%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
United Utilities Group (UU.) 915.50p -2.40%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 749.50p -2.09%
Anglo American (AAL) 958.60p -1.75%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,030.50p -1.65%
Glencore (GLEN) 277.05p -1.56%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,019.00p -1.55%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,067.50p -1.41%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,125.00p -1.36%
BP (BP.) 450.55p -1.35%
Experian (EXPN) 1,614.00p -1.10%
FTSE 250 - Risers
SIG (SHI) 151.50p 4.20%
Rotork (ROR) 239.30p 2.35%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 176.00p 1.44%
Vectura Group (VEC) 115.30p 1.41%
Card Factory (CARD) 301.90p 1.21%
Indivior (INDV) 330.20p 1.16%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 272.50p 1.04%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,320.00p 0.87%
NMC Health (NMC) 2,293.00p 0.79%
Redefine International (RDI) 39.94p 0.76%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Cairn Energy (CNE) 165.30p -4.17%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 179.70p -2.81%
Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 216.10p -2.79%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 467.20p -2.59%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 573.00p -2.39%
Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 467.10p -2.30%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 145.20p -2.29%
Virgin Money Holdings (UK) (VM.) 262.00p -2.13%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,561.00p -2.07%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 640.50p -2.06%