London open: Stocks little changed as investors monitor Ukraine conflict
London stocks were little changed in early trade on Friday as investors continued to monitor any developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
At 0830 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 7,378.47.
Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Equity markets remain highly sensitive to the repercussions of the conflict and as fighting enters the fourth week, there still seems a gulf separating Russian and Ukrainian negotiators.
"Russian aggression is expected to be discussed on a difficult call between the US President and China’s premier later which is causing nervousness given it comes at a sensitive diplomatic time between Russia and the US. Reports that Joe Biden will tell Xi Jinping that Beijing will pay a price if it supports Russia, has done little to calm worries about the potential escalation of the geopolitical situation.
"With the corporate world having built up a solid fortress to isolate Russia from the global economy, the US clearly wants to ensure Russia can’t find an escape route to avoid the effectiveness of sanctions."
In equity markets, pub chain JD Wetherspoon nudged lower despite saying it halved interim pre-tax losses as Covid restrictions eased and that trading in the last three weeks was now 2.6% below 2019 pre-pandemic levels.
Investec lost ground even as it lifted full-year profit guidance, driven by the post-pandemic economic recovery.
Vodafone rose following a Reuters report that global infrastructure funds have approached the company to invest in its $16bn mast company Vantage Towers.
Vital components manufacturer Essentra gained as it hailed a "strong" full-year trading performance, driven by accelerated growth in the final quarter of the year.
Power generation company ContourGlobal was also among the risers as it reported a record full-year financial performance and said trading in the current financial year was ahead of the board’s expectations.
Drinks maker C&C fizzed higher after an upgrade to 'buy' at Shore Capital, while Softcat was lifted by an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Berenberg.
Outside the FTSE 350, Ted Baker surged after US private equity firm Sycamore Partners confirmed it was in the early stages of considering a possible cash offer for the fashion retailer.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,378.47 -0.09%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,005.90 0.14%
techMARK (TASX) 4,336.96 0.00%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Polymetal International (POLY) 146.00p 4.21%
Prudential (PRU) 1,089.00p 1.68%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,711.50p 1.57%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 127.54p 1.25%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,552.00p 1.24%
Ferguson (FERG) 11,090.00p 1.23%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 996.60p 1.18%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 13,010.00p 1.09%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 48.50p 1.05%
Royal Mail (RMG) 367.30p 1.02%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Pearson (PSON) 786.20p -2.96%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 143.90p -1.84%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,236.50p -1.67%
ITV (ITV) 84.56p -1.49%
BP (BP.) 363.20p -1.32%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,033.00p -1.07%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 93.18p -1.06%
Abrdn (ABDN) 207.10p -1.05%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 140.76p -1.00%
WPP (WPP) 1,050.50p -0.94%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 290.00p 3.57%
C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 220.00p 3.19%
Apax Global Alpha Limited (APAX) 212.00p 2.91%
Softcat (SCT) 1,673.00p 2.70%
Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 231.50p 2.43%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 262.50p 2.34%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 167.10p 2.20%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 716.00p 2.14%
OSB Group (OSB) 555.50p 2.02%
Currys (CURY) 89.40p 2.00%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Mitie Group (MTO) 56.00p -3.45%
Workspace Group (WKP) 650.00p -3.06%
Helios Towers (HTWS) 116.80p -2.67%
Greencore Group (CDI) (GNC) 128.30p -2.58%
Investec (INVP) 448.40p -2.42%
Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 126.40p -2.17%
SSP Group (SSPG) 249.40p -2.12%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 245.60p -2.00%
Darktrace (DARK) 443.80p -1.38%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 1,418.00p -1.32%