London open: Stocks little changed as restrictions ease

London stocks were little changed in early trade on Monday as investors weighed up recovery hopes against the fallout from Archegos’s fire sale.

At 0900 BST, the FTSE 100 was 0.1% lower at 6,731.10.7 as lockdown eased in England, with groups of six people or two households now allowed to meet outdoors.

Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "The FTSE failed to celebrate the first step of the UK’s spring awakening, trickling 10 or so points lower, dropping to 6,730, while the pound was equally unenthused, flat against dollar and euro alike.”

He said this early reticence could be tied to the Archegos Capital situation.

"Friday saw significant losses for ViacomCBS, Discovery, and a selection of Chinese tech stocks, without immediate explanation, Campbell said. "Over the weekend it was then revealed that a margin call-hit Archegos was behind the selling, leading to warnings of ‘significant’ losses from Credit Suisse and Nomura on Monday morning.

"It is unclear whether Archegos is done with its fire sales, and, if it isn’t, how much it has left to unload. That also raises questions over the wider ramifications of the hedge fund’s troubles, and which companies will be the next to announce they have been stung."

Overall, however, the general mood was holding up well given the Archegos news, with sentiment underpinned by recovery hopes.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "Renewed optimism on economic recovery is lifting all boats as investors continue to gauge those sectors most likely to benefit.

"The late surge in US markets was across the board at the end of last week, but value stocks in particular saw specific buying interest. There was also evidence of a boost to retail as consumers begin to spend their stimulus cheques and, as restrictions ease, the likelihood of the release of pent-up demand accelerates."

In equity markets, financial services platform AJ Bell rose after it lifted full-year revenue guidance as it continued to see rising customer numbers in the first half. The company said it expected revenue for the 12 months to September 30 to be at least £6m higher than its own compiled forecasts of £136m.

In broker note action, BT Group was among the top gainers after an upgrade to ‘overweight’ at Morgan Stanley, while housebuilder Barratt Developments was knocked lower by a downgrade to ‘neutral’ at JPMorgan.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,731.10 -0.14%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,481.37 -0.02%
techMARK (TASX) 4,226.52 0.03%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Relx plc (REL) 1,840.50p 1.85%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,549.50p 1.71%
BT Group (BT.A) 150.35p 1.55%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 494.40p 1.48%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,327.00p 1.22%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,333.00p 1.21%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 2,575.00p 1.18%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,805.50p 1.08%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 916.40p 0.99%
BAE Systems (BA.) 498.60p 0.93%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Glencore (GLEN) 280.30p -2.13%
Entain (ENT) 1,528.00p -1.70%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 757.60p -1.69%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,664.50p -1.65%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 133.38p -1.48%
Barclays (BARC) 180.28p -1.46%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,977.00p -1.46%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,462.50p -1.32%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 16,265.00p -1.30%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,541.00p -1.22%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Helios Towers (HTWS) 162.80p 2.39%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 949.00p 2.04%
Savills (SVS) 1,149.00p 1.95%
Vietnam Enterprise Investments (DI) (VEIL) 586.00p 1.91%
Hammerson (HMSO) 33.57p 1.91%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 104.80p 1.80%
HGCapital Trust (HGT) 318.50p 1.76%
Chemring Group (CHG) 267.00p 1.71%
AJ Bell (AJB) 415.00p 1.59%
ICG Enterprise Trust (ICGT) 1,020.00p 1.49%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Energean (ENOG) 852.00p -3.05%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 281.80p -2.73%
FirstGroup (FGP) 90.10p -2.33%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 1,890.50p -2.17%
Royal Mail (RMG) 508.00p -1.89%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 368.40p -1.76%
National Express Group (NEX) 310.00p -1.71%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 49.41p -1.65%
Hays (HAS) 148.80p -1.59%
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 189.95p -1.58%