London open: Stocks flat ahead of UK borrowing figures; volumes paltry

Stocks in London were flat in early trade as investors awaited the release of UK borrowing figures, with volumes dwindling ahead of the Christmas break and little in the way of market-moving news.

By 0830 GMT, volumes on the FTSE were 50% below the 10-day moving average.

Meanwhile, oil prices advanced after data from the American Petroleum Institute showed a 4.1m barrel drawdown in US crude inventories in the week ended 16 December, which was a bigger drop than expected. Still to come, investors will eye data from the US Energy Information Administration.

West Texas Intermediate was up 0.7% to $53.69 a barrel and Brent crude was 0.7% higher at $55.75.

Spreadex’s Connor Campbell said: “The FTSE couldn’t build on yesterday’s 7040 as the session began, investors perhaps reticent to do much before they get a glimpse at the latest UK borrowing figures.

"For November the public sector net borrowing reading is forecast to rise to £12.2bn from £4.8bn in October, news that is unlikely to improve the mood this morning. As for the pound, after a sharp decline on Tuesday the currency has continued to fall. Against the dollar it shed 0.2%, leaving it just under $1.235, while against the euro it dropped 0.2%, keeping it below €1.19.”

In corporate news, FTSE 250-listed John Laing Infrastructure Fund edged higher after saying it will buy a 6% minority stake in a rail project from John Laing Investments for £42.4m.

Qinetiq rallied after announcing that it has acquired Meggitt Defence Systems and Meggitt Holdings Canada, together Meggitt Target Systems, from Meggitt for £57.5m on a cash-free, debt-free basis.

Riverstone Energy ticked up after offloading a C$28m loan in Canada's CIOC and swapped the proceeds for an investment in CIOC warrants instead.

Dairy Crest nudged lower after agreeing to set up a research partnership with Danisco Animal Nutrition, part of DuPont's Industrial Biosciences business.

Shawbrook racked up healthy gains after RBC Capital Markets upgraded the challenger bank to ‘sector perform’ from ‘underperform’ and lifted the price target to 280p from 210p as it upped its earnings forecasts.

UK public finances and the Bank of England agents’ summary of business conditions are at 0930 GMT. In the US, existing home sales are at 1500 GMT.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,044.25 0.00%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,798.80 0.16%
techMARK (TASX) 3,336.21 0.05%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,598.00p 2.44%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 232.80p 1.26%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 683.50p 1.11%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,038.00p 0.97%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 759.50p 0.86%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,677.00p 0.84%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 228.20p 0.84%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,100.00p 0.82%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 672.50p 0.82%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 345.50p 0.70%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Carnival (CCL) 4,065.00p -1.93%
Capita (CPI) 492.00p -1.32%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 1,874.00p -0.79%
Merlin Entertainments (MERL) 439.50p -0.79%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,303.50p -0.65%
Worldpay Group (WPG) 265.00p -0.60%
Informa (INF) 676.50p -0.59%
National Grid (NG.) 933.30p -0.50%
St James's Place (STJ) 987.50p -0.45%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,319.00p -0.45%

FTSE 250 - Risers

QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 259.20p 4.26%
Shawbrook Group (SHAW) 268.40p 2.99%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 369.20p 2.70%
Synthomer (SYNT) 381.60p 2.47%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 114.70p 2.23%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 194.20p 2.10%
PZ Cussons (PZC) 332.00p 2.03%
CYBG (CYBG) 276.40p 1.62%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 170.50p 1.49%
Ibstock (IBST) 186.20p 1.47%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

AO World (AO.) 179.60p -2.39%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 1,526.00p -1.99%
Rank Group (RNK) 191.90p -1.59%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 137.30p -1.51%
JPMorgan American Inv Trust (JAM) 366.00p -1.40%
Safestore Holdings (SAFE) 340.29p -1.34%
G4S (GFS) 231.60p -1.07%
Evraz (EVR) 215.70p -1.06%
Indivior (INDV) 281.80p -0.88%
Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) 965.00p -0.67%