London open: Stocks fall ahead of ECB; StanChart tumbles on results

London stocks fell in early trade on Thursday, as investors eyed the latest policy announcement from the European Central Bank and US GDP data, with Standard Chartered under the cosh after third-quarter results.

At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.7% at 7,363.35, taking its cue from downbeat sessions in the US and Asia.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "While ECB President Lagarde has been at pains to insist that the ECB isn’t done on the rate hike front, the ECB would be foolhardy in the extreme to hike rates again in a week that has seen economic data show little signs of picking up.

"It’s already almost certain that Q3 saw the EU economy slide into contraction, and the latest October data has shown little sign that is likely to change."

The ECB announcement is at 1315 BST, while Q3 US GDP figures are due out at 1330 BST.

In equity markets, Standard Chartered tumbled after it posted a drop in third-quarter pre-tax profit, as it took a hit from its exposure to the Chinese property and banking sectors.

In the three months to the end of September, pre-tax profit fell to $633m from $1.4bn a year earlier. Analysts were expecting pre-tax profit of $1.44bn.

The bank said credit impairment charges in the quarter were $294m, up $62m on the same period a year earlier, and $186m of which related to the Chinese commercial real estate sector.

In addition, StanChart said it reduced the carrying value of its investment in China Bohai Bank by $697m. This reflected subdued earnings and a challenging macroeconomic outlook, it said.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "China remains both a blessing and a curse for Standard, with the country’s faltering economic recovery weighing heavily on these results.

"The currently parlous state of developments in China are an inevitable concern, although Standard is adequately capitalised to withstand such challenges.

"Indeed, in the medium and longer-term the Chinese economy should provide some significant opportunities, and in a region where the bank has a well-established and trusted presence. Despite any disappointment which this latest update has delivered, the market consensus of the shares as a cautious buy encapsulates both current challenges and future prospects."

WPP slumped after it cut its full-year guidance as technology clients continued to curtail spending. The advertising firm, the world’s largest, reported a 5% fall in third-quarter net revenues to £2.84m. On an underlying basis, revenues fell 0.6%.

The blue chip also more than halved its forecast for annual net revenue to between 0.5% and 1%, from previous guidance for between 1.5% and 3%.

Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Usually high-spending technology clients in North America have applied the brakes amid an uncertain economic backdrop. China’s also dragging performance down as the macro environment doesn’t lend itself to loose corporate spending. This has culminated in another reduction in full year expectations. While seeing growth go into reverse isn’t ideal, it’s not wholly unexpected given that advertising activity is a clear-cut barometer of the economy.

"WPP is doing what it can to combat these challenges, including consolidating and streamlining its offering. That could mean the business that emerges from all this could be stronger than what it started with, but there are considerable speed bumps to traverse first. As the digital world transforms at pace, this giant will have to move as nimbly as it can if it wants to thrive."

Unilever was also in the red as the consumer goods giant laid out plans to boost growth and posted a dip in third-quarter revenues.

Renishaw retreated as the engineering technology group reported a decline in first-quarter profit, pointing to "challenging" market conditions.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,363.35 -0.69%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 16,771.46 -0.59%
techMARK (TASX) 3,987.09 -0.65%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Compass Group (CPG) 2,078.00p 1.56%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,107.00p 1.05%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 254.20p 0.75%
BP (BP.) 538.60p 0.73%
Pearson (PSON) 928.20p 0.67%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,478.50p 0.63%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,746.50p 0.58%
Shell (SHEL) 2,733.50p 0.57%
Tesco (TSCO) 273.60p 0.48%
Frasers Group (FRAS) 793.00p 0.38%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Standard Chartered (STAN) 644.40p -9.75%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 437.80p -3.70%
Unilever (ULVR) 3,899.50p -2.84%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 599.00p -2.62%
WPP (WPP) 673.20p -2.58%
Entain (ENT) 904.60p -2.27%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 3,902.00p -2.18%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 12,650.00p -2.05%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 4,621.00p -1.95%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 7,912.00p -1.81%

FTSE 250 - Risers

CAB Payments Holdings (CABP) 53.30p 6.60%
888 Holdings (DI) (888) 87.00p 4.25%
Greencoat UK Wind (UKW) 135.00p 3.61%
Inchcape (INCH) 662.50p 2.71%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 75.50p 2.37%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 170.00p 2.22%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 1,128.00p 2.17%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 566.50p 2.16%
C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 141.80p 1.72%
Empiric Student Property (ESP) 85.00p 1.55%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 1,772.00p -4.73%
Renishaw (RSW) 2,896.00p -4.67%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,700.00p -4.39%
Vietnam Enterprise Investments (DI) (VEIL) 525.00p -3.31%
Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 244.00p -3.17%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 980.50p -2.82%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 209.40p -2.79%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 172.80p -2.59%
Ibstock (IBST) 119.60p -2.53%
Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 2,130.00p -2.52%