London open: Stocks fall ahead of BoE's financial stability report
London stocks opened in the red on Tuesday ahead of services data and the Bank of England’s financial stability report, as worries about Brexit continued to weigh on investors' minds.
Markit services PMI at 0930 BST and it’s expected to show a decline to 52.7 in June from 53.5 the previous month. The Financial Stability Report is due at 1030 BST.
CMC Markets’ Michael Hewson said: “The shock fall in yesterday’s UK construction PMI for June to seven year lows of 46 was a big surprise and doesn’t bode well for the sector heading into Q3, and while manufacturing improved, the main focus today rests even more importantly on the UK services sector which has borne the weight on its shoulders for the past few years of the UK’s economic outperformance.
“We need to see a decent June number here or we could well see a situation that sees the UK economy potentially stagnate in Q2. A slow down from 53.5 to 52.8 is expected ahead of the latest Bank of England financial stability report.”
The financial stability report at 1030 BST is expected to reveal further details of post-Brexit risks to the UK economy.
Elsewhere, Chinese Caixin services PMI for June rose to 52.7 from 51.2, marking the fastest increase in 11 months.
In corporate news, housebuilder Persimmon slumped even as it said it was still too soon to judge the effect of Brexit on the new homes market, adding that trading through the first half had been “strong”.
“We believe that market fundamentals remain strong, supported by long term unfulfilled demand, and that the UK housing market will continue to provide good opportunities for those companies with the right strategic focus and the balance sheet strength to navigate future changes in trading conditions.”
Fellow housebuilders Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Developments were also in the red.
Imagination Technologies dropped as it swung to a loss for the year ended 30 April as revenue fell amid a significant restructuring of the business.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,503.28 -0.29%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 15,890.73 -1.40%
techMARK (TASX) 3,197.29 -0.30%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,520.00p 1.25%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 903.50p 0.89%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,158.00p 0.87%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,947.00p 0.87%
Diageo (DGE) 2,117.50p 0.79%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 7,567.00p 0.76%
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 8,025.00p 0.63%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,499.00p 0.56%
Unilever (ULVR) 3,616.50p 0.56%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 1,121.00p 0.54%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Land Securities Group (LAND) 930.00p -5.10%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,339.00p -4.68%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 370.60p -4.56%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 178.60p -4.49%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,375.00p -4.18%
British Land Company (BLND) 541.50p -4.16%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 125.10p -4.14%
Kingfisher (KGF) 306.50p -4.10%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,819.00p -4.01%
Schroders (SDR) 2,260.00p -3.79%
FTSE 250 - Risers
CLS Holdings (CLI) 1,405.00p 3.46%
Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 490.00p 2.40%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 206.80p 1.92%
Caledonia Investments (CLDN) 2,300.00p 1.91%
JPMorgan Emerging Markets Inv Trust (JMG) 647.00p 1.73%
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 401.20p 1.44%
Bankers Inv Trust (BNKR) 602.00p 0.84%
NB Global Floating Rate Income Fund Ltd GBP (NBLS) 91.80p 0.82%
Ultra Electronics Holdings (ULE) 1,738.00p 0.81%
John Laing Infrastructure Fund Ltd (JLIF) 129.50p 0.78%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 214.00p -6.96%
Ibstock (IBST) 123.90p -6.77%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 267.10p -6.54%
F&C Commercial Property Trust Ltd. (FCPT) 103.60p -5.90%
Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 461.20p -5.34%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 193.10p -5.25%
Card Factory (CARD) 306.60p -5.14%
UK Commercial Property Trust (UKCM) 67.80p -4.84%
Great Portland Estates (GPOR) 571.00p -4.59%
TR Property Inv Trust (TRY) 260.00p -4.59%