London open: Stocks flat ahead of inflation figures; Fed in focus
Stocks in London were flat in early trade as investors eyed the release of UK inflation data and as the Federal Reserve kicks off its two-day policy meeting.
At 0820 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down just 0.1% to 6,886.23.
Meanwhile, oil prices were a touch weaker, with investors taking profits after they surged to mid-2015 highs following an agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC members to cut production. West Texas Intermediate was down 0.2% to $52.73 a barrel and Brent crude was 0.1% lower at $55.61.
Market participants were looking ahead to the UK consumer price index, retail price index and producer price index at 0930 GMT.
Spreadex’s Connor Campbell said: “The undoubted focus in the UK is inflation. October’s dip to 0.9% is likely to be a blip, with analysts expecting November’s figure to rise to 1.1%, the highest reading since the end of 2014. In anticipation everything is looking a bit flat; the pound hasn’t really moved against the dollar, though admittedly it managed quite a healthy climb yesterday, while the FTSE, after ignoring Monday’s Brent crude boost, is back below 6900.”
Investors were also eyeing the latest policy announcement from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, amid expectations of a 25 basis points rate hike.
In corporate news, infrastructure construction group Balfour Beatty was a little firmer after saying it expects to finish the year with a positive cash balance as it completes the first phase of chief executive Leo Quinn's two-year turnaround process.
UBM advanced after agreeing to buy privately-owned Asian exhibitions company Allworld Exhibitions for a cash consideration that values the business at $485m on a debt and cash free basis.
Old Mutual pushed up after saying its asset management business will float on the London Stock Exchange with an offering of 13m shares and the equity raised will be used for “general corporate purposes”.
Housebuilder Bellway rallied s it reported a 7% jump in reservations in the 18-week period to 4 December and said it expects housing completions for the year to the end of July 2017 to rise by 5%.
On the downside, cyber security expert NCC Group tumbled after issuing a profit warning, while Georgia-focused investment company BGEO Group nudged lower after announcing that its banking subsidiary, JSC Bank of Georgia, has agreed to acquire a micro and small business portfolio from JSC ProCredit Bank Georgia for cash.
Carpetright was under the cosh after it posted a 42% slump in pre-tax profit for the 26 weeks ended 29 October as revenue fell amid uneven consumer demand and as the company took a hit from the weakening of the pound versus the euro.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,886.23 -0.06%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,663.04 0.12%
techMARK (TASX) 3,253.27 0.04%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Persimmon (PSN) 1,689.00p 1.32%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 458.20p 1.28%
Unilever (ULVR) 3,149.50p 1.21%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 151.20p 1.07%
GKN (GKN) 315.20p 0.99%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 359.90p 0.93%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 3,400.00p 0.92%
Old Mutual (OML) 192.50p 0.89%
Sky (SKY) 980.50p 0.87%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 2,138.00p 0.85%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Standard Life (SL.) 350.50p -2.77%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,192.00p -1.63%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 211.40p -1.17%
Tesco (TSCO) 210.40p -1.15%
BP (BP.) 478.50p -1.01%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,735.00p -0.78%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,390.50p -0.71%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 769.00p -0.71%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 60.99p -0.64%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,180.50p -0.61%
FTSE 250 - Risers
CMC Markets (CMCX) 99.57p 5.31%
Britvic (BVIC) 573.00p 3.43%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,085.00p 3.33%
UBM (UBM) 732.00p 3.24%
Bellway (BWY) 2,453.00p 2.64%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 1,872.00p 2.30%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 332.80p 2.24%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 392.50p 2.19%
Ted Baker (TED) 2,702.00p 2.16%
Drax Group (DRX) 314.10p 1.98%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Evraz (EVR) 263.50p -3.48%
Zoopla Property Group (ZPLA) 310.10p -2.48%
Allied Minds (ALM) 405.30p -2.20%
Henderson Group (HGG) 227.30p -1.77%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 855.50p -1.72%
Essentra (ESNT) 425.10p -1.71%
Paragon Group Of Companies (PAG) 381.00p -1.55%
Rank Group (RNK) 194.90p -1.42%
CYBG (CYBG) 275.30p -1.40%
Beazley (BEZ) 368.00p -1.29%