London open: Stocks flat as investors digest earnings news

London stocks were flat in early trade as investors sifted through a raft of corporate news.

At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was flat at 7,342.97, while the pound was up 0.3% versus the dollar at 1.2978, closing in on the £1.30 level as investors eyed the latest policy announcement from the Bank of England on Thursday.

Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital, said: "There has been some chatter that the Bank might err towards talking up the inflation impact and that could mean more MPC members following Kristin Forbes’s lead in calling for a rate hike."

He pointed out the part in the March minutes that said "some members noted that it would take relatively little further upside news on the prospects for activity or inflation for them to consider that a more immediate reduction in policy support might be warranted".

Wilson added: "Since then we’ve seen inflation spike and this is getting traders thinking that Bank might sound a touch hawkish."

In corporate news, ITV was in the red after it said advertising revenue fell in the first quarter and is expected to remain down for the first half, though production sales from its Studios arm and online growth were both strong.

TalkTalk shares tumbled as it reported full-year adjusted operating profit short of expectations and said it will cut the dividend in the current year.

Just Eat was weaker after it noted that the Competition and Markets Authority plans to refer its proposed takeover of Hungryhouse to a Phase 2 investigation, while Wood Group slipped as it said its performance in the year to date has been weaker than expected.

On the upside, Paddy Power Betfair advanced as it announced its entry into the daily fantasy sports market in the United States, with the acquisition of an early-stage operator, DRAFT.

Housebuilder Barratt Developments rallied after saying it expects pre-tax profit for the full year 2017 to be at the top end of current analyst estimates of between £675m and £733m and that completions will hit their highest level in nine years, coming in at around 17,350.

Catering company Compass edged higher after it reported a rise in first-half revenue as it benefited from a weaker pound, and announced a £1bn special dividend.

AstraZeneca ticked up despite saying its asthma drug, Tralokinumab, did not meet its primary endpoint in a late-stage study.

Defence contractor BAE Systems nudged higher as it said it has started the year with good momentum and that trading is in line with its expectations, while Vesuvius surged after an upbeat trading update.

Engineer Renishaw was just a touch firmer as it lifted its full-year revenue and profit forecasts for the second time this year, while Marshalls racked up healthy gains as it said revenue in the four months to the end of April was up 6% to £135m.

Transport operator National Express was little changed after saying it remains on target to deliver its profit expectation and free cash flow and leverage targets for the year.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,342.97 0.01%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,833.30 0.08%
techMARK (TASX) 3,559.07 -0.01%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Barratt Developments (BDEV) 613.50p 2.85%
Next (NXT) 4,391.00p 1.43%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,840.00p 1.07%
Aviva (AV.) 540.50p 0.93%
Kingfisher (KGF) 345.50p 0.82%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,614.00p 0.75%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,418.00p 0.67%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,610.00p 0.63%
Royal Mail (RMG) 419.60p 0.60%
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 8,425.00p 0.60%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Micro Focus International (MCRO) 2,448.00p -1.69%
Provident Financial (PFG) 3,199.00p -1.36%
ITV (ITV) 198.10p -1.34%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,957.00p -1.11%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,200.00p -0.80%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,145.00p -0.74%
CRH (CRH) 2,866.00p -0.73%
Intu Properties (INTU) 275.00p -0.65%
Sage Group (SGE) 694.00p -0.64%
Diageo (DGE) 2,276.50p -0.63%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Vesuvius (VSVS) 577.50p 6.35%
Marshalls (MSLH) 407.50p 3.69%
Redrow (RDW) 593.50p 1.80%
IP Group (IPO) 143.10p 1.78%
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 459.10p 1.55%
JRP Group (JRP) 131.00p 1.47%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 160.00p 1.39%
CYBG (CYBG) 288.10p 1.27%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 629.50p 1.21%
Countryside Properties (CSP) 277.40p 1.20%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 163.00p -10.68%
AO World (AO.) 146.60p -2.85%
Allied Minds (ALM) 144.00p -2.77%
Just Eat (JE.) 553.50p -1.86%
Aldermore Group (ALD) 252.70p -0.94%
BGEO Group (BGEO) 3,624.00p -0.93%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 6,739.00p -0.90%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 762.00p -0.85%
Halfords Group (HFD) 367.10p -0.76%
Ted Baker (TED) 2,685.00p -0.70%