London open: Stocks nudge lower as sterling gains; Ocado rallies on results

London stocks were just a touch weaker in early trade on Tuesday as the pound gained ground after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the lifting of Covid restrictions will go ahead on 19 July.

At 0900 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 7,158.88, while sterling was up 0.3% against the dollar at 1.3889 and 0.2% firmer versus the euro at 1.1687. A stronger pound tends to weigh on the top-flight index, as around 70% of its constituents derive most of their earnings from overseas.

At a press conference on Monday, Johnson said England would go ahead with the lifting of coronavirus restrictions on 19 July following a four-week delay, with face masks, social distancing and limits on gatherings set to be scrapped.

Nightclubs will be able to reopen for the first time since pandemic restrictions kicked in, while table service and test and trace QR sign-ins will no longer be mandatory in bars and restaurants. In addition, there will no longer be limits on the number of visitors a care home resident can have.

In equity markets, British Land and Land Securities were the worst performers on the FTSE 100 after a downgrade to ‘hold’ at Jefferies, while Reckitt was weaker after a downgrade to ‘underperform’ at Bernstein. Lancashire Holdings was hit by a downgrade to ‘neutral’ at JPM.

On the upside, Ocado rose after the online grocer said first-half losses narrowed as retail revenue rose during further Covid-19 restrictions in the UK. The pre-tax loss for the six months to the end of May was £23.6m compared with £40.6m a year earlier as group revenue rose 21.4% to £1.32bn.

Sainsbury's was a little higher after it increased its guidance for annual profit as sales beat expectations in the first 16 weeks of 2021. The supermarket group said it expected annual underlying pre-tax profit of at least £660m compared with equivalent profit of £356m last year and earlier guidance of about £620m.

British Airways and Iberia parent IAG and budget airline easyJet were also in the black as Germany relaxed restrictions from travellers from the UK and other countries.

Oil giants Shell and BP gushed higher as oil prices rose.

NatWest was up after an upgrade to ‘overweight’ at Barclays, while Hiscox and Beazley were lifted by upgrades to ‘overweight’ at JPMorgan.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,158.88 -0.08%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,959.50 -0.27%
techMARK (TASX) 4,477.51 -0.37%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 2,042.00p 2.87%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 194.10p 2.71%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,511.40p 1.44%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,470.80p 1.41%
Tesco (TSCO) 234.45p 1.27%
BP (BP.) 327.60p 1.03%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,594.50p 0.82%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 105.84p 0.82%
BHP Group (BHP) 2,200.00p 0.80%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 5,580.00p 0.47%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

British Land Company (BLND) 510.40p -2.26%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 690.80p -1.96%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,295.00p -1.54%
Barclays (BARC) 175.56p -1.20%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 160.85p -1.08%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,597.50p -0.99%
St James's Place (STJ) 1,526.00p -0.97%
Evraz (EVR) 605.40p -0.95%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 2,184.00p -0.91%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,458.50p -0.88%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Schroder Oriental Income Fund Ltd. (SOI) 279.50p 1.82%
easyJet (EZJ) 965.60p 1.30%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 864.00p 1.15%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 60.72p 1.00%
PZ Cussons (PZC) 256.00p 0.99%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 1,358.00p 0.89%
Beazley (BEZ) 340.10p 0.89%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 457.00p 0.88%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 107.05p 0.85%
IP Group (IPO) 119.00p 0.85%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 200.50p -2.15%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 614.00p -2.07%
IWG (IWG) 320.60p -1.87%
Trainline (TRN) 314.20p -1.81%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 434.30p -1.59%
Scottish American Inv Company (SAIN) 496.00p -1.39%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 1,888.50p -1.38%
Renishaw (RSW) 4,990.00p -1.38%
SSP Group (SSPG) 294.20p -1.34%
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 237.50p -1.25%