London open: Stocks little changed ahead of PMIs

London stocks were little changed in early trade on Wednesday as investors eyed the latest reading on the UK services and manufacturing sectors.

At 0920 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 7,096.90.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "The markets seem to be in consolidation mode on Wednesday after their see-saw start to the week.

"US and Asian stocks built on their previous day’s gains overnight and the FTSE 100 was broadly unchanged at kick-off this morning,

"While recent market sentiment has been dictated by the US Federal Reserve, their counterparts in the Bank of England will take centre stage later today when they deliver their monthly address.

"Investors might expect some guidance on the future trajectory of UK interest rates although consumer prices are merely bubbling on this side of the Atlantic when compared with the boiling point they have already reached in the US.

"Much will depend on just how transitory the current elevated levels of inflation turn out to be."

On the data front, Markit’s manufacturing and services PMIs for the UK are due at 0930 BST.

In equity markets, Royal Dutch Shell was the standout gainer after SocGen upgraded the shares to ‘buy’.

Miners were also higher as copper and iron prices rose, with Anglo American, BHP, Antofagasta and Glencore all up.

On the downside, housebuilder Berkeley fell even as it reported a rise in annual profits driven by sales of new homes in London and the South East.

Phoenix Group also lost ground after Swiss Re sold a 6.6% stake in the company.

In broker not action, luxury brand Burberry was knocked lower by a downgrade to ‘hold’ at HSBC. But Virgin Money and Travis Perkins were higher after upgrades at Investec and Deutsche Bank, respectively.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,096.90 0.10%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,653.33 -0.12%
techMARK (TASX) 4,465.77 -0.14%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,430.00p 2.13%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,481.00p 1.96%
BT Group (BT.A) 206.40p 1.88%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,841.50p 1.77%
BP (BP.) 328.15p 1.69%
BHP Group (BHP) 2,095.50p 1.50%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 131.70p 1.12%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 47.28p 1.11%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 109.26p 0.98%
British Land Company (BLND) 521.00p 0.81%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 674.00p -2.83%
Fresnillo (FRES) 812.60p -1.81%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,375.60p -1.38%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 700.60p -1.21%
Evraz (EVR) 618.40p -1.18%
Halma (HLMA) 2,693.00p -1.10%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,132.00p -1.07%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,591.00p -1.06%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 5,016.00p -1.03%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 2,235.00p -0.93%

FTSE 250 - Risers

NCC Group (NCC) 290.00p 2.84%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 603.00p 2.55%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 63.10p 2.44%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 301.00p 2.03%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 87.52p 1.81%
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 201.20p 1.80%
Premier Foods (PFD) 106.40p 1.72%
HarbourVest Global Private Equity Limited A Shs (HVPE) 2,115.00p 1.68%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 170.00p 1.67%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 1,252.00p 1.62%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 111.00p -1.94%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,300.00p -1.92%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 639.00p -1.84%
Vietnam Enterprise Investments (DI) (VEIL) 696.00p -1.56%
888 Holdings (888) 392.60p -1.55%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 432.20p -1.50%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 4,190.00p -1.37%
Moonpig Group (MOON) 434.40p -1.36%
Hill & Smith Holdings (HILS) 1,470.00p -1.34%
Renishaw (RSW) 5,240.00p -1.32%