London open: Stocks nudge up amid corporate deluge, ahead of rate decisions

London stocks nudged higher in early trade on Thursday as investors waded through a deluge of corporate news and looked ahead to the latest policy announcements from the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve.

At 0850 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up just 0.1% at 8,175.41.

Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "With the implications of Trump’s huge win still being assessed for the global economy, the internationally focused FTSE 100 has opened up slightly.

"It gave up initial gains yesterday, so trading is still set to be cautious as investors ponder the implications of a possible clean sweep for the Republicans in the US elections. Mining stocks are on the front foot this morning, after nursing heavy losses, yesterday, helped by much better than expect export figures from China for October.

"All eyes will now turn to interest rate decisions from the Bank of England at noon today and the Federal Reserve Bank later in the day. Markets are broadly expecting a quarter-point cut from Threadneedle Street which would bring rates to 4.75%.

"Jerome Powell’s also expected to announce a quarter point cut which equates to a whole point cut since rates peaked. But perhaps of more importance will be comments about the future direction of travel with markets now expecting only two further cuts in 2025, due to the impact of a fresh Trump presidency with tariff hikes and tax cuts which are expected to be inflationary."

Before that, investors were mulling the latest data from lender Halifax, which showed that house prices ticked up to a record high in October as mortgages became more affordable.

House prices rose 0.2% on the month following a 0.3% increase in September. On the year, prices were up 3.9% in October following a 4.6% increase the month before.

The average price of a home rose from £293,305 in September to £293,999. This was above the previous peak of £293,507 set in June 2022, towards the end of the pandemic-era "race for space".

Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said: "That house prices have reached these heights again in the current economic climate may come as a surprise to many, but perhaps more noteworthy is that they didn’t fall very far in the first place. Despite the headwind of higher interest rates, house prices have mostly levelled off over the past two and a half years, recording a 0.2% increase overall. That’s a significant slowdown compared to the 21% rise we saw in the equivalent period from January 2020 to the summer of 2022.

"Despite the affordability challenge, market activity has been improving. The number of new mortgages agreed recently reached its highest level in two years. This aligns with average mortgage rates dropping steadily since spring - now over 160 basis points lower than in summer 2023 - coupled with continued positive income growth.

"Looking ahead, borrowing constraints remain a challenge for many buyers. Following the budget, markets expect the Bank of England to cut rates more slowly than previously anticipated, which could keep mortgage costs higher for longer. New policies like higher stamp duty for second home buyers and a return to previous thresholds for first-time buyers might also affect demand.

"While we expect house prices to keep growing, it will likely be at a modest pace for the rest of this year and into next."

In equity markets, engineer IMI rallied as it hailed a "resilient" third-quarter performance and reaffirmed its full-year adjusted earnings per share guidance.

Building materials group CRH gained as it said profit and revenue rose in the third quarter despite adverse weather.

RS Group was higher as it said its first-half performance was in line despite more challenging than expected markets.

Trainline also advanced as it lifted its full-year guidance.

Taylor Wimpey nudged up as it backed its full-year outlook, saying it saw steady signs of improvement in customer demand in the second half to date, as mortgage rates reduced and affordability improved.

On the downside, Auto Trader fell as it reported a solid increase in revenues and profits for the first half, but said the new car market remains challenging and gave a mixed outlook for used cars despite strong demand.

BT Group was under the cosh as it cut its full-year revenue guidance and said pre-tax profit fell 10% in the first half.

Rolls-Royce declined even as it reiterated its full-year guidance after a solid third-quarter performance, with demand remaining strong across civil aerospace, defence and power systems markets.

Hiscox was in the red even as the insurer reported a rise in written premiums for the first nine months of the year as it hailed solid retail growth.

Supermarket chain Sainsbury’s lost ground despite reporting increasing momentum in its second quarter and reiterating guidance for strong underlying profit growth this financial year, helped by improving grocery volumes and a stronger performance from Argos in the second half.

ITV was also on the back foot as the broadcaster reported a drop in revenue for the first nine months of the year as its Studios arm was hit by the US actors’ and writers’ strike.

Wood Group tanked as it said third-quarter adjusted EBITDA was lower than a year earlier and that its Projects business delivered a disappointing quarter, hit by delayed awards in the chemicals business and continued weakness in minerals and life sciences.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,175.41 0.11%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,520.15 0.36%
techMARK (TASX) 4,591.48 0.15%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Prudential (PRU) 682.20p 2.77%
Spirax Group (SPX) 6,540.00p 2.59%
Glencore (GLEN) 411.45p 2.54%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 7,988.00p 2.31%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,446.00p 2.26%
IMI (IMI) 1,695.00p 2.17%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,763.00p 2.11%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,145.00p 2.02%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,240.50p 1.89%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 943.40p 1.68%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 803.40p -4.74%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 549.80p -4.22%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 214.20p -3.43%
BT Group (BT.A) 137.50p -3.24%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 261.80p -2.24%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,048.00p -1.87%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 9,819.00p -1.04%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 98.80p -0.95%
3i Group (III) 3,460.00p -0.94%
Beazley (BEZ) 771.00p -0.90%

FTSE 250 - Risers

RS Group (RS1) 720.00p 5.65%
IP Group (IPO) 46.55p 4.96%
Trainline (TRN) 412.60p 3.98%
Elementis (ELM) 132.60p 3.92%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 219.00p 2.82%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 121.10p 2.63%
Harworth Group (HWG) 177.00p 2.61%
IntegraFin Holding (IHP) 378.50p 2.57%
Derwent London (DLN) 2,114.00p 2.32%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 321.00p 2.23%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Wood Group (John) (WG.) 90.20p -27.61%
ITV (ITV) 65.85p -8.92%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 189.70p -4.91%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,594.00p -3.10%
Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 821.50p -3.07%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,341.00p -3.04%
Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 3,705.00p -2.50%
Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 140.00p -1.41%
Rathbones Group (RAT) 1,604.00p -1.23%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 156.00p -1.14%