London open: Stocks fall after Fed outlook; ex-divs weigh

London equity markets fell in early trade on Thursday after a gloomy economic outlook from the US Federal Reserve, with ex-dividend stocks pacing the decline.

At 0845 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 1.2% at 6,037.59 as investors mulled the latest Federal Open Market Committee minutes released overnight.

ING economist James Knightley said: "The minutes to the July 29th FOMC meeting are not especially reassuring. The commentary suggests an ongoing weak economic backdrop whereby inflation remains persistently low yet there is little inclination to offer additional imminent support to the economy."

In equity markets, ex-dividends were a drag, with M&G, Evraz, Standard Life, Mondi, Anglo American, Berkeley Group, Imperial Brands, Plus500 and Drax all in the frame.

Antofagasta was in the red after the Chilean copper miner posted a 22.4% fall in first-half earnings on weaker prices and sales but still paid a reduced dividend.

On the upside, building materials group CRH was higher after it reported a decline in interim profit and revenue as it took a hit from the Covid-19 pandemic but declared a steady interim dividend.

AO World surged as the online electrical goods retailer reported strong sales growth for the four months to the end of July as it continues to benefit from increased online shopping despite the reopening of stores since the easing of coronavirus lockdown measures.

Frasers Group, formerly Sports Direct, gained after saying it plans to spend £100m on its digital elevation strategy and forecasting a 10-30% improvement in underlying core earnings next year as 2020 profits fell by a fifth due to the pandemic.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,037.59 -1.22%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,459.10 -0.71%
techMARK (TASX) 3,809.33 -0.54%

FTSE 100 - Risers

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,104.00p 2.70%
CRH (CRH) 3,037.00p 1.00%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 2,411.00p 0.96%
SEGRO (SGRO) 947.40p 0.30%
Rightmove (RMV) 613.60p 0.20%
British Land Company (BLND) 350.50p 0.14%
SSE (SSE) 1,296.00p 0.08%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,682.00p 0.07%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 548.20p 0.04%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,535.00p 0.03%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

M&G (MNG) 170.00p -5.56%
Evraz (EVR) 327.60p -5.26%
Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) 250.90p -4.71%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 192.65p -4.15%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,471.00p -4.04%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,479.00p -3.51%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,256.00p -3.24%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 254.30p -3.05%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,114.50p -2.96%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,893.20p -2.68%

FTSE 250 - Risers

AO World (AO.) 207.50p 7.40%
PPHE Hotel Group Ltd (PPH) 1,090.00p 3.81%
Calisen (CLSN) 169.05p 2.45%
Frasers Group (FRAS) 311.40p 1.83%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,435.00p 1.46%
ICG Enterprise Trust (ICGT) 800.00p 1.01%
Assura (AGR) 80.10p 1.01%
IntegraFin Holding (IHP) 555.00p 0.91%
Personal Assets Trust (PNL) 45,050.00p 0.90%
Equiniti Group (EQN) 113.80p 0.89%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 59.75p -5.98%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 1,440.50p -4.79%
Cranswick (CWK) 3,650.00p -4.65%
Law Debenture Corp. (LWDB) 517.00p -4.44%
Hammerson (HMSO) 49.87p -4.10%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 46.66p -3.36%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 260.00p -3.35%
John Laing Group (JLG) 294.20p -3.29%
Drax Group (DRX) 274.80p -3.24%
Provident Financial (PFG) 174.80p -2.89%