London open: Stocks in the black as Shell, HSBC gain after results

London stocks pushed higher in early trade, helped along by well-received results from the likes of Shell and HSBC, as investors looked to a slew of data releases.

At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.6% to 7,275.13. Meanwhile, the pound was off 0.1% versus the dollar at 1.2855, having come under some pressure earlier on news that the Queen had summoned the entire royal household to an emergency meeting at Buckingham Palace.

There had been concerns that it was to do with her health or that of the Duke of Edinburgh but reports suggest this is not the case.

On the data front, net lending, consumer credit, mortgage approval and Markit's services PMI are all due at 0930 BST. In the US, initial jobless claims are at 1330 BST, while factory orders are at 1500 BST.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "This week’s UK data has showed evidence of a decent pickup in economic activity after a bit of a slowdown in Q1, and today’s April services PMI should complete the picture of a solid April performance, after manufacturing and construction beat expectations by bouncing back strongly.

"It is predicted that we could see a bit of a slowdown from March’s 55 to 54.6, but given that these predictions have been wrong twice this week it wouldn’t surprise to see an upside surprise. We will also get to see the latest lending data for March, which is expected to reflect the slowdown in consumer spending as well as the housing market."

On Wednesday, the Fed stood pat on rates, as expected, although the odds of an interest rate hike at the central bank's June meeting rose to 94% from around 70% following the accompanying policy statement, in which it brushed aside the importance of weaker-than-expected first-quarter GDP figures.

The French election was also likely to remain in focus as centrist Macron remained ahead in the polls following Wednesday's televised debate between him and Marine Le Pen.

In corporate news, oil giant Royal Dutch Shell gushed higher as it said first-quarter profit more than doubled, while Randgold Resources racked up healthy gains after reporting a 33% jump in first-quarter profit and a rise in gold production.

HSBC pushed up after it said profits in the first quarter were hit by currency movements, but at the underlying level, they improved strongly against the same period last year and the fourth quarter of 2016.

RSA Insurance was also on the front foot as it posted a 14% increase in first-quarter net written premiums, while supermarket Morrisons advanced after saying sales in the first quarter rose thanks to price cuts and solid trading over Easter.

Integrated security company G4S was in the black after it reported a 9% jump in revenue for the first quarter and said it saw a strong start to the year.

On the downside, retailer Next was under the cosh after it trimmed the top end of its full-year profits guidance as sales fell in the first quarter of its financial year.

Convatec was weaker despite reiterating its guidance for 2017 and reporting in-line trading for the first quarter, while Anglo American shares dropped as it agreed the sale of its 88% stake in the Drayton thermal coal mine in New South Wales.

Glencore was in the red as it raised its full year profits target slightly to between $2.3bn and $2.6bn despite production in the first quarter being impacted by severe weather such as cyclone Debbie in Australia.

Rio Tinto nudged lower after saying it is aiming for $5bn of free cash flow via productivity improvements over five years.

Kingfisher, Croda, Henderson, Derwent London, Card Factory, and Hastings all fell as their stock went ex-dividend.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,275.13 0.56%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,680.16 -0.02%
techMARK (TASX) 3,529.09 0.09%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,125.50p 3.15%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 665.50p 3.15%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,079.50p 3.05%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,785.00p 2.65%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 618.00p 2.32%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 242.10p 1.30%
BP (BP.) 451.90p 1.18%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 722.90p 1.05%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 561.00p 0.99%
WPP (WPP) 1,690.00p 0.96%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Next (NXT) 4,142.00p -6.08%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,016.50p -2.68%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 357.90p -2.35%
Kingfisher (KGF) 334.00p -2.08%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 291.80p -2.08%
Glencore (GLEN) 282.05p -1.66%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 776.50p -1.58%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,254.00p -1.57%
Croda International (CRDA) 3,761.00p -1.52%
Sage Group (SGE) 696.50p -1.49%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,110.00p 3.35%
G4S (GFS) 322.90p 2.67%
AO World (AO.) 146.20p 2.31%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 208.10p 2.06%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 854.00p 1.67%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 703.50p 1.30%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 127.80p 1.03%
John Laing Group (JLG) 288.90p 1.01%
Bankers Inv Trust (BNKR) 774.00p 0.91%
Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) 1,108.00p 0.91%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Ferrexpo (FXPO) 146.70p -4.68%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 235.70p -3.64%
Henderson Group (HGG) 224.60p -3.19%
Derwent London (DLN) 2,881.00p -3.00%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 475.00p -2.98%
Card Factory (CARD) 322.30p -2.95%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 382.80p -2.60%
Polymetal International (POLY) 965.00p -2.38%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 325.80p -2.07%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 624.50p -2.04%