London open: Stocks fall amid earnings deluge as bond market selloff resumes

London stocks fell in early trade on Thursday amid a deluge of corporate news, as the selloff in bond markets resumed.

At 0840 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.6% at 6,633.54.

Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "Once again the European indices were left playing catch-up after major movements in the US and Asian markets yesterday evening.

"Rising bond yields - an issue that briefly went away at the start of the week after their February-ending surge - helped send the Dow a further 120 points lower last night, forcing it back under 31,300.

"The impact was even more severe in Asia, were a volatile session finished with the Nikkei down 2% and the CSI 3% lighter.

"For reference, last night saw the bench 10-year US Treasury bond yields hit 1.477% - still a way off last week’s 1.614%, one-year high, but going in the wrong direction from a market perspective. This, in turn, has left the European markets posting similar losses."

In equity markets, there was an avalanche of earnings reports for investors to wade through.

Aviva was a top performer as it said annual profit was little changed and announced the disposal of its Italian business and a move to reduce debt by £800m.

Sage was a high riser after the software company announced it was commencing a share buyback programme of up to £300m utilising the sale proceeds from recent disposals and ongoing cash generation.

Building materials distributor CRH was up after it lifted its dividend even as it reported a decline in full-year profit and revenue, after what it called a "challenging year", hit by disruption from the pandemic.

B&M European Value Retail rallied as it increased its guidance for annual earnings after strong trading at its UK business.

Reckitt Benckiser was boosted by an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Societe Generale.

Housebuilder Vistry was on the front foot as it reported better-than-expected annual profits and resumed dividend payments, driven by a strong second half performance.

Rathbone Brothers and Coats were also higher after the release of their full-year results.

On the downside, miners slumped, with Rio Tinto, BHP, Anglo American and Glencore all weaker.

Entain lost ground as the Ladbrokes owner pulled its dividend despite a rise in annual profits, citing Covid-19 uncertainties.

InterContinental Hotels was knocked lower by a downgrade to ‘underweight’ at JPMorgan, while molten metal flow engineer Vesuvius slid after posting a drop in full-year profit and revenue as its performance was dented by the Covid crisis.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,633.54 -0.63%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,291.05 -0.68%
techMARK (TASX) 4,040.66 -0.31%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Aviva (AV.) 394.00p 2.82%
Sage Group (SGE) 591.60p 2.11%
National Grid (NG.) 824.20p 1.73%
SSE (SSE) 1,321.50p 1.54%
CRH (CRH) 3,344.00p 1.52%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 6,176.00p 1.25%
Pennon Group (PNN) 918.00p 1.15%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 550.20p 1.10%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,874.50p 0.83%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,572.00p 0.67%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Rio Tinto (RIO) 6,036.00p -6.20%
BHP Group (BHP) 2,253.00p -4.29%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,120.00p -3.61%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,968.00p -3.23%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,909.50p -2.53%
Entain (ENT) 1,425.00p -2.46%
Glencore (GLEN) 292.70p -2.34%
Pearson (PSON) 766.80p -2.02%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,805.50p -2.01%
Evraz (EVR) 588.80p -1.96%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Sanne Group (SNN) 608.00p 2.88%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 889.20p 2.75%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 508.40p 2.03%
Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 1,608.00p 1.90%
Workspace Group (WKP) 805.00p 1.90%
Coats Group (COA) 65.10p 1.88%
Vivo Energy (VVO) 92.10p 1.77%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,206.00p 1.69%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 389.80p 1.62%
Computacenter (CCC) 2,148.00p 1.51%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Vesuvius (VSVS) 517.50p -6.08%
Edinburgh Worldwide Inv Trust (EWI) 348.50p -4.78%
Hammerson (HMSO) 30.04p -3.90%
Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 323.00p -3.58%
Renishaw (RSW) 6,070.00p -3.34%
Diversified Gas & Oil (DGOC) 127.00p -3.05%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 436.00p -3.00%
Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 2,795.00p -2.95%
Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 2,170.00p -2.69%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 278.00p -2.52%