London open: Stocks nudge higher amid caution ahead of US election

Stocks in London nudged just a touch higher in early trade as investors erred on the side of caution ahead of the US presidential election.

At 0820 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.2% to 6,819.27. Meanwhile, oil prices were fairly steady, with West Texas Intermediate down 0.2% to $44.80 a barrel and Brent crude flat at $46.17.

Spreadex’s Connor Campbell said: “Somewhat predictably the markets have lost their appetite this Tuesday morning, the size of yesterday’s gains, and the proximity of the US election, seemingly ruling out any more explosive growth.

“The morning session could be a bit of a duff one this Tuesday, given that nothing concrete from the US in terms state-voting etc is going to be out until this evening. It is likely going to be one of those days where the seismic nature of an event renders the market inert for around 24 hours.”

In corporate news, Marks & Spencer gained ground. The retailer held its interim dividend as first-half profits fell almost 19%, with new chief executive Steve Rowe announcing a £350m investment plan to close 113 stores in the UK and overseas markets to try and return the retailer to profitable growth.

Direct Line Group edged higher after it said gross written premiums for ongoing operations rose 4.2% in the nine months to the end of September with continued growth in Motor own brands, up 9.7%.

Primark owner Associated British Foods rallied as it reported a rise in full-year revenue and profit.

Aveva was little changed after the FTSE 250 engineering software provider said it swung to a profit in the first half of the year as revenue rose despite “continued tough trading conditions".

On the downside, tobacco company Imperial Brands fell after it reported a drop in profit for the year to end of September, but said revenue rose and upped its dividend by 10%.

On the macroeconomic front, figures released by the General Administration of Customs earlier showed Chinese exports fell 7.3% in October from a year earlier following a 10% drop in September. Meanwhile, imports were down 1.4% compared to a 1.9% drop in September. Analysts had been expecting a 6% fall in exports and a 1% decline in imports.

On the UK data calendar, industrial and manufacturing production figures are due at 0930 GMT.

Campbell said manufacturing production is forecast to rise from 0.2% to 0.5% month-on-month, while industrial production is expected to bounce back out of negative territory once again, from -0.4% to 0.1%. “So nothing too exciting but potentially enough to give sterling a short-term boost,” he said.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,809.78 0.04%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,456.19 -0.01%
techMARK (TASX) 3,300.18 -0.05%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,582.00p 3.74%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,680.00p 2.38%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,775.00p 1.50%
Informa (INF) 689.50p 1.47%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,260.00p 1.30%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,600.00p 1.27%
Next (NXT) 5,050.00p 1.24%
CRH (CRH) 2,631.00p 1.11%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,243.00p 0.89%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 915.00p 0.88%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Imperial Brands (IMB) 3,724.00p -2.08%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 614.90p -1.19%
Glencore (GLEN) 248.30p -1.15%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,672.00p -0.95%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,460.00p -0.68%
Barclays (BARC) 184.05p -0.62%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,534.00p -0.57%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 459.50p -0.54%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 185.50p -0.54%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 55.88p -0.34%

FTSE 250 - Risers

OneSavings Bank (OSB) 297.50p 2.44%
BBA Aviation (BBA) 251.90p 1.94%
Allied Minds (ALM) 350.00p 1.86%
DFS Furniture (DFS) 239.20p 1.79%
Unite Group (UTG) 568.00p 1.43%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 867.00p 1.17%
Aggreko (AGK) 817.00p 1.11%
Investec (INVP) 504.00p 1.10%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 155.50p 0.97%
Assura (AGR) 59.20p 0.94%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Sports Direct International (SPD) 314.10p -3.35%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 704.00p -3.03%
Ascential (ASCL) 286.40p -2.85%
Safestore Holdings (SAFE) 348.40p -2.35%
Workspace Group (WKP) 632.50p -2.24%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 199.10p -2.16%
Rank Group (RNK) 196.10p -2.10%
Paysafe Group (PAYS) 422.20p -1.86%
Zoopla Property Group (ZPLA) 293.00p -1.48%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 1,576.00p -1.44%