London open: Stocks flat ahead of services data
London stocks were little changed in early trade on Tuesday as investors eyed the latest reading on the UK services sector and any developments in the Ukraine conflict.
At 0900 BST, the FTSE 100 was flat at 7,557.49, with the EU set to impose fresh sanctions against Russia following reported atrocities in Bucha, just outside Kyiv.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "Investors remain cautious on growth prospects, as the West considers tightening its stranglehold on the Russian economy.
"The latest bout of public outrage has strengthened the resolve of Western leaders to take further action. Even Germany, which has a high reliance on the import of Russian gas, is looking to refrain from further imports. Meanwhile, as countries consider actions to offset the loss of energy supplies, prices remain well supported, such as an oil price which has popped again and has now risen by 41% so far this year.
"The vestiges of the conflict remain unknown, even after the aggression has subsided. In the meantime, the war has already shown signs of threatening economic growth, while from an investor perspective sentiment remains fragile given the volume of news emanating from the region. Alongside the pre-existing issues of inflation and rising interest rates, some repositioning is increasing the attraction of defensive stocks."
On the home front, the S&P Global/CIPS services PMI for March is due at 0930 BST.
In equity markets, Prudential was trading higher after an upgrade to ‘neutral’ from at Exane, while cruise operator Carnival rallied after it reported the best ever week for bookings in the company’s history.
Moonpig gained as it upgraded its revenue outlook for the current financial year after sales were boosted by consumer behaviour during the Omicron strain of Covid-19.
Home repairs service Homeserve was also up after it said it had traded in line with expectations during its fiscal year with steady policy retention rates in the UK and US.
On the downside, M&G was knocked lower by a downgrade to ‘underperform’ at Exane.
Cybersecurity firm Darktrace was under the cosh as JPMorgan Cazenove initiated coverage of the shares at ‘underweight’, saying the path to sustainable profitable growth was unclear.
Moneysupermarket was also in the red after a downgrade to ‘equalweight’ from ‘overweight’ at Barclays.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,557.49 -0.02%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,227.62 -0.48%
techMARK (TASX) 4,359.52 -0.26%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Croda International (CRDA) 7,914.00p 1.91%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 4,184.00p 1.06%
Prudential (PRU) 1,141.50p 1.06%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,526.00p 1.06%
BAE Systems (BA.) 734.40p 0.99%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 525.80p 0.92%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,208.00p 0.84%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,666.60p 0.83%
Halma (HLMA) 2,566.00p 0.83%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,222.00p 0.83%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
M&G (MNG) 215.10p -2.09%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 132.35p -1.82%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 3,018.00p -1.69%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,929.00p -1.63%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,995.50p -1.59%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 125.20p -1.57%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,789.00p -1.53%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 525.80p -1.46%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 8,960.00p -1.43%
Tesco (TSCO) 272.00p -1.41%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Carnival (CCL) 1,389.50p 3.58%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 146.60p 2.16%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 149.00p 1.64%
IP Group (IPO) 91.20p 1.62%
Homeserve (HSV) 877.00p 1.39%
Frasers Group (FRAS) 671.00p 1.36%
Trainline (TRN) 276.20p 1.17%
FirstGroup (FGP) 113.30p 1.16%
SSP Group (SSPG) 227.40p 1.11%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 410.20p 1.08%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Darktrace (DARK) 423.70p -6.05%
Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 180.60p -4.49%
Countryside Partnerships (CSP) 270.00p -3.16%
IWG (IWG) 256.30p -3.03%
Victrex plc (VCT) 1,785.00p -2.99%
Just Group (JUST) 92.90p -2.62%
Softcat (SCT) 1,666.00p -2.52%
Provident Financial (PFG) 287.20p -2.45%
TP Icap Group (TCAP) 148.10p -2.31%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 342.00p -2.29%