London open: Stocks fall ahead of US jobless claims; ex-divs weighs

London stocks fell in early trade on Thursday following solid gains in the previous session, with ex-dividends weighing on the index, as investors eyed the latest US jobless claims.

At 0835 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 1% at 6,220.46, having closed up 2% on Wednesday despite the release of dire UK GDP data.

Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "Reversing a decent chunk of Wednesday’s hard to justify gains, the FTSE fell far faster than its European peers on Thursday morning.

"Arguably the eurozone indices should’ve been worse off. The US maintained its tariffs on Airbus aircraft - an argument that predates both the Trump and Obama administrations - and goods like wine and single malt whisky from the continent, but failed to escalate the situation with fresh tariffs on vodka, gin and beer."

Market participants were looking ahead to the release of US initial jobless claims at 1330 BST.

In equity markets, ex-dividend stocks were a drag, with Phoenix Group, Legal & General, Ashtead, Pearson, Shell, BP, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Diageo, Aviva and Smurfit Kappa all in the frame.

Bus operator National Express fell sharply as it said it swung to a half-year loss after the coronavirus lockdown led to an 80% slump in passenger traffic.

Travel company TUI was also in the red after it plunged to a €1.1bn third-quarter loss as its business shut down under coronavirus lockdowns and bookings fell through the floor.

4imprint, a direct marketer of promotional products, was under pressure as it said half-year pre-tax profit tumbled to nearly nothing as it was "significantly" impacted by the pandemic.

On the upside, Ladbrokes owner GVC Holdings rose as it reported a 14% drop in first-half profit as online revenue helped offset the shutdown of the company's retail bookmaking operations and sporting events during the Covid crisis.

Watches of Switzerland rallied after it said first-quarter trading was ahead of expectations as the luxury watch retailer reported a 6.2% increase in annual profit.

Elsewhere, Helios Towers and Just Group were also trading higher after well-received results.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,220.46 -0.95%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,996.47 -0.51%
techMARK (TASX) 3,924.21 -0.52%

FTSE 100 - Risers

GVC Holdings (GVC) 810.00p 3.13%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,461.00p 1.82%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 9,104.00p 1.18%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,737.00p 1.07%
Avast (AVST) 585.50p 0.60%
Flutter Entertainment (FLTR) 12,060.00p 0.58%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,354.00p 0.56%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 121.15p 0.46%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 7,538.00p 0.45%
Schroders (SDR) 3,107.00p 0.42%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 693.00p -3.94%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 229.00p -3.33%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 426.10p -2.83%
ITV (ITV) 64.32p -2.57%
Aviva (AV.) 296.30p -2.44%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 208.20p -2.39%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,714.00p -2.37%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 348.80p -2.32%
BP (BP.) 304.60p -2.15%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 265.90p -2.03%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 284.50p 8.59%
Just Group (JUST) 54.40p 6.88%
John Laing Group (JLG) 304.00p 4.83%
Shaftesbury (SHB) 540.00p 2.37%
Helios Towers (HTWS) 181.40p 2.02%
Ibstock (IBST) 174.20p 1.99%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 254.00p 1.60%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 9,104.00p 1.18%
IP Group (IPO) 75.00p 1.08%
UDG Healthcare Public Limited Company (UDG) 744.00p 0.81%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

National Express Group (NEX) 161.30p -8.35%
AO World (AO.) 194.80p -3.56%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 355.00p -3.35%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 2,330.00p -3.32%
Coats Group (COA) 60.10p -3.06%
Capita (CPI) 38.55p -2.63%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 115.05p -2.50%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 202.00p -2.42%
PZ Cussons (PZC) 199.20p -2.35%
William Hill (WMH) 130.45p -2.28%