London open: Stocks little changed but Playtech rallies on takeover approach
London stocks were little changed in early trade on Monday, but Playtech was in the black after receiving a takeover bid from shareholder Gopher Investments.
At 0855 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 7,308.02.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "Despite China’s exports beating forecasts and resulting in a record trade surplus, imports missed estimates, suggesting a slowdown of domestic demand. Coupled with the other pressures which have more recently been troubling the economy, such as the rise in Covid-19 cases, power shortages and a shadow over the property sector, the route to normality seems less clear.
"This uncertainty spilled over into the UK in early trade, as markets struggled for direction. Further strength in the oil price boosted the majors, miners crept into positive territory and airline-related stocks were also in demand in the face of potentially recovering international travel. Less positively, there was some pressure on banking stocks as the Bank of England’s inaction last week on interest rates undid some of the optimism which had been building on a potential boost to earnings.
"Further colour is likely to be added to the current plight of the retailers this week, with updates from Primark owner Associated British Foods, Marks & Spencer and Burberry each giving indications on the present attitude of consumers to discretionary spending and, indeed, how sticky the previous switch to online shopping is becoming."
In equity markets, cyber security firm Darktrace was the standout gainer on the FTSE 100 following heavy losses in the previous week.
Gambling software developer Playtech rallied after confirming it has received a preliminary takeover approach from Gopher Investments. Responding to press speculation, the gambling software developer said it is in "early stage and ongoing" discussions with Gopher.
JD Sports Fashion was weaker as it hit back at reports over a meeting between the retailer’s boss Peter Cowgill and Footasylum chief Barry Brown in an industrial estate car park, leading to claims they may have broken UK takeover rules.
Asset manager Abrdn was trading up after saying it is in talks with private equity firm J.C. Flowers & Co. about a potential acquisition of fund platform Interactive Investor.
Wealth manager Investec also gained after lifting its earnings per share guidance for the first half of 2022.
In broker note action, TI Fluid Systems was boosted by an upgrade to ‘overweight’ from ‘neutral’ at JPMorgan, while Helios Towers was knocked lower by a downgrade to ‘equalweight’ at Barclays.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,308.02 0.06%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,546.94 -0.21%
techMARK (TASX) 4,636.06 -0.36%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Darktrace (DARK) 602.50p 4.33%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 3,766.00p 2.50%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,397.00p 2.31%
Fresnillo (FRES) 918.20p 1.91%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,709.40p 1.57%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,706.20p 1.35%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 6,340.00p 1.31%
Evraz (EVR) 608.60p 1.26%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 631.20p 1.09%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 9,402.00p 1.00%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Informa (INF) 536.40p -2.19%
ITV (ITV) 109.55p -2.19%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,360.00p -1.93%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 1,101.00p -1.78%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 450.80p -1.68%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 12,480.00p -1.50%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,582.00p -1.25%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 178.04p -1.18%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 141.28p -1.16%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,655.00p -1.04%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Petropavlovsk (POG) 22.84p 3.82%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 281.00p 3.50%
Investec (INVP) 340.20p 3.03%
Playtech (PTEC) 725.00p 2.40%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 5,020.00p 1.91%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 154.40p 1.78%
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 245.50p 1.66%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 94.54p 1.44%
Ninety One (N91) 257.40p 1.34%
Indivior (INDV) 257.60p 1.34%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 133.20p -3.48%
Carnival (CCL) 1,650.20p -2.70%
Helios Towers (HTWS) 145.40p -2.42%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,628.00p -2.31%
National Express Group (NEX) 239.00p -1.97%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 2,870.00p -1.88%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 250.20p -1.81%
Clarkson (CKN) 3,985.00p -1.73%
Ultra Electronics Holdings (ULE) 3,200.00p -1.54%
JPMorgan Japanese Inv Trust (JFJ) 695.00p -1.42%