London open: Stocks fall after US selloff, amid earnings deluge

London stocks fell in early trade on Thursday, taking their cue from a downbeat session on Wall Street, where tech names came under pressure.

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said: “Underwhelming results from Tesla and Alphabet painted the equity markets in the red yesterday. The S&P 500 experienced its worst selloff since December 2022 with a 2.30% drop. It tested its 50-DMA (near 5428) to the downside. Nasdaq 100 tumbled 3.65% and sank below its own 50-DMA.

"Tesla dived more than 12% on earnings miss and no fresh news on robotaxis, Google lost 5% on prospects of increased AI spending. Google’s capex spending will reach or exceed $24bn that will bring the total spending this year to almost $50bn - or around 84% more than the past five-year average according to the WSJ. The company CEO thinks that underinvesting is a bigger risk than overinvesting. But that narrative is no longer welcome among investors."

At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.8% at 8,086.65, as investors waded through a barrage of corporate news.

Centrica tumbled as the British Gas owner said it was extending its share buyback programme but posted a drop in first-half profits in what it called a more "normalised" external environment.

In the six months to 30 June, adjusted operating profit fell to £1.04bn from 2.08bn in the same period a year earlier, with pre-tax profit down to £1.1bn from £2.07bn. Adjusted operating profit at British Gas Energy slid to £159m from £969m.

Rentokil and Airtel Africa were also in the red after results, while Lloyds Banking Group fell as it reported a drop in first-half profit as costs rose.

In the six months to the end of June, statutory pre-tax profit at the bank fell 14% from the same period a year earlier to £3.32bn. This was due to lower net interest income and higher operating expenses, partly offset by a lower impairment charge, the bank said

AstraZeneca lost ground even as the pharmaceuticals giant lifted its full-year guidance and posted an 18% increase in total revenue for the first half to $25.6bn, driven by significant growth in product sales and alliance revenue.

BT was under the cosh as it reiterated full-year targets after what it called a "solid start" to the year, with strong growth in fibre and customer numbers, but said revenues were held back by a weaker performance in the business division.

Centamin, CMC Markets and broadcaster ITV were also weaker after results.

On the upside, consumer goods company Unilever rallied despite posting worse-than-expected second-quarter underlying sales.

British American Tobacco gained as its first-half profits beat analysts’ expectations, while opioid addiction treatment maker Indivior surged as it announced a $100m share buyback programme and said second-quarter results were in line with updated guidance.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,086.65 -0.82%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,730.32 -1.05%
techMARK (TASX) 4,711.44 -0.85%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Unilever (ULVR) 4,682.00p 6.48%
Haleon (HLN) 347.40p 2.27%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,596.00p 0.78%
GSK (GSK) 1,520.50p 0.70%
Compass Group (CPG) 2,307.00p 0.57%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,092.00p 0.29%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,114.50p 0.27%
Pearson (PSON) 1,028.50p 0.24%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,490.00p 0.12%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,772.00p 0.05%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Centrica (CNA) 130.10p -9.05%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 446.70p -5.70%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 108.60p -5.57%
Fresnillo (FRES) 583.50p -3.87%
SSE (SSE) 1,777.50p -3.84%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,940.00p -3.76%
BT Group (BT.A) 134.55p -3.72%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 429.10p -3.33%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 681.80p -3.24%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 700.00p -2.97%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Indivior (INDV) 964.50p 16.49%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 258.60p 1.97%
C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 160.40p 1.78%
ICG Enterprise Trust (ICGT) 1,326.00p 1.69%
Caledonia Investments (CLDN) 3,580.00p 1.27%
JPMorgan Indian Investment Trust (JII) 1,016.00p 0.99%
Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust (ASL) 1,626.00p 0.99%
NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited Red (NESF) 82.10p 0.74%
Herald Investment Trust (HRI) 2,210.00p 0.68%
HGCapital Trust (HGT) 518.00p 0.39%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Centamin (DI) (CEY) 117.70p -9.04%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 285.00p -4.84%
ITV (ITV) 80.50p -4.56%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,731.00p -4.15%
AJ Bell (AJB) 406.50p -4.13%
Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 911.00p -3.85%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 154.10p -3.51%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 177.40p -3.48%
Pennon Group (PNN) 616.00p -3.30%
RS Group (RS1) 760.50p -3.18%