London open: Stocks in the red but RBS bucks the trend

London stocks fell in early trade as investors digested some uninspiring consumer confidence data, although Royal Bank of Scotland was a bright spot after a third-quarter update.

At 0835 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.4% to 6,957.14.

At the same time, oil prices retreated, with West Texas Intermediate down 0.6% at $49.43 a barrel and Brent crude down 0.5% at $50.19.

Investors were mulling over two surveys on Friday, neither of which provided too much cheer. A survey from market research firm GfK showed sentiment dropped in October for the first time since the Brexit vote, with its consumer confidence index down to -3 from -1 the month before.

Meanwhile, the YouGov/Cebr consumer confidence index fell to 109.3 in October, marking its lowest level since 2013 apart from the drop in July after the Brexit vote.

In corporate news, Royal Bank of Scotland rallied after its third-quarter update. The bank reported a loss attributable to shareholders of £469m compared to a profit of £940m in the same period last year as it took a hit from litigation and restructuring costs. However, adjusted operating profit came in at £1.3bn, up from £1.1bn the year before and beating company-compiled consensus of £734m.

Engineer Smiths Group was trading flat after saying it will de-risk its pension liabilities further with a £250m bulk buy-in agreement with an insurer.

International Consolidated Airlines Group gained ground despite reporting a drop in third quarter operating profit before exceptional items to €1.21bn from €1.25bn a year ago and cutting its earnings outlook.

Tullow Oil advanced after receiving a $345m loan to cover April's scheduled amortisation and ensure the company has enough headroom throughout 2017 as it refinances its bank facilities.

There are no major UK data releases due, but in the US the first release of third-quarter GDP is at 1330 BST, while University of Michigan sentiment is at 1500 BST.

CMC Markets’ Michael Hewson said the Q3 GDP figures are expected to show a jump to 2.4% from 1.4% in Q2.

“An improvement in Q3 would be most welcome given that it would break a run of 5 consecutive quarters of slower GDP growth. A number significantly lower than what is being expected, below 2%, could well take some of the heat out of the recent US dollar rebound, though I’m not sure it will alter the probability that the Fed will look to act on rates in December. Next week’s Fed meeting is more than likely to be a do-over given the proximity of the US Presidential election 6 days later, with the Fed remaining on the sidelines, despite the three September dissenters.”

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,957.09 -0.42%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,540.92 -0.23%
techMARK (TASX) 3,388.32 -0.31%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 202.50p 3.11%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 422.10p 2.08%
Pearson (PSON) 751.00p 1.08%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,653.00p 0.91%
Barclays (BARC) 191.90p 0.73%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 3,955.50p 0.44%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 3,144.00p 0.32%
Capita (CPI) 595.00p 0.25%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,633.50p 0.18%
3i Group (III) 660.50p 0.15%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Land Securities Group (LAND) 965.50p -1.98%
Intu Properties (INTU) 276.10p -1.88%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 310.70p -1.52%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,785.00p -1.49%
British Land Company (BLND) 569.50p -1.47%
ITV (ITV) 170.00p -1.22%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,443.00p -1.21%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,057.50p -1.15%
BP (BP.) 487.95p -1.12%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 620.50p -1.12%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Elementis (ELM) 235.80p 9.93%
Electrocomponents (ECM) 379.20p 4.12%
Sophos Group (SOPH) 231.80p 3.07%
Inchcape (INCH) 652.00p 1.32%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 288.30p 1.30%
Halfords Group (HFD) 343.40p 1.30%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 193.60p 1.10%
Just Eat (JE.) 512.00p 1.09%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 369.00p 1.07%
Serco Group (SRP) 139.10p 1.02%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Unite Group (UTG) 561.00p -3.61%
Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 452.20p -2.94%
Berendsen (BRSN) 1,004.00p -2.52%
IP Group (IPO) 150.80p -2.14%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 186.00p -2.11%
Zoopla Property Group (ZPLA) 300.20p -1.83%
Workspace Group (WKP) 626.00p -1.73%
John Laing Group (JLG) 270.30p -1.60%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 690.00p -1.50%
Vectura Group (VEC) 137.10p -1.44%