London open: Stocks nudge up; quiet trade expected amid US holiday

London stocks nudged up in early trade on Monday following a mostly positive session in Asia, but trade was expected to be quieter than usual with US markets closed for Martin Luther King day.

At 0825 GMT, the FTSE 100 was 0.1% firmer at 7,632.93.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said UK markets remained "undecided in opening trade in the absence of any major news and with the likelihood of a lighter trading day given the closure of Wall Street later".

Investors mulled the latest data from Rightmove, which showed that average UK house prices rose 1.3% last month - the largest jump in three years amid signs the market was starting to ease.

The rise for homes put on the market between December and January was also more than double the average increase for this time of year, Rightmove added.

"For now the data at the start of 2024 points to building momentum, and reasons for growing market optimism," said Tim Bannister, director of property science at Rightmove.

The number of agreed sales was 20% higher in the first week of January compared to the same period last year, with buyer demand up 5%. The number of homes coming to the market rose by 15%.

"More new sellers are now entering the market, and with more confident pricing. While the increased level of buyer activity that we're also seeing may justify some of this increased pricing confidence from sellers, it's important that sellers who are keen to find a buyer don't get carried away with New Year enthusiasm when setting their price expectations," Bannister said.

"Elevated mortgage rates and the wider cost-of-living squeeze are still limiting buyers' spending power."

In equity markets, Sainsburys gained as Citi upped its price target on the shares to 310p from 295p.

Bakkavor surged as it announced a board change after hedge fund Baupost sold its stake in the food manufacturing group to private equity firm LongRange Capital.

On the downside, recruitment specialist PageGroup lost ground after it said 2023 full-year operating profit was set to be slightly below previous guidance as fourth-quarter profits fell amid a global hiring slowdown.

Housebuilder Crest Nicholson was also in the red as it delivered a profit warning as a result of higher-than-expected costs and announced an additional one-off charge from a legal claim.

The group said that adjusted pre-tax profit for 2023 is now expected to be £41m, lower than the £45-50m range given in November.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,632.93 0.10%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,226.81 0.15%
techMARK (TASX) 4,287.39 -0.22%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 289.60p 0.98%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 264.20p 0.84%
Informa (INF) 760.40p 0.77%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,057.00p 0.71%
National Grid (NG.) 1,070.00p 0.61%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 617.20p 0.59%
BP (BP.) 456.75p 0.57%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 781.40p 0.57%
Barclays (BARC) 146.34p 0.55%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,616.00p 0.54%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 645.80p -0.98%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 130.40p -0.91%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 44.57p -0.90%
Schroders (SDR) 418.70p -0.90%
Diploma (DPLM) 3,356.00p -0.71%
Sage Group (SGE) 1,165.50p -0.64%
F&C Investment Trust (FCIT) 944.00p -0.63%
Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 508.40p -0.55%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 9,942.00p -0.54%
Fresnillo (FRES) 530.60p -0.52%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 90.20p 6.12%
Tyman (TYMN) 319.50p 4.07%
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 610.00p 3.39%
Essentra (ESNT) 164.80p 3.00%
North Atlantic Smaller Companies Inv Trust (NAS) 3,900.00p 2.63%
Grafton Group Ut (CDI) (GFTU) 928.50p 2.60%
Grainger (GRI) 261.00p 2.43%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 1,095.00p 2.34%
TP Icap Group (TCAP) 190.00p 2.15%
Ruffer Investment Company Ltd Red PTG Pref Shares (RICA) 272.50p 2.06%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

PureTech Health (PRTC) 183.00p -3.68%
Volution Group (FAN) 402.60p -3.36%
Moonpig Group (MOON) 158.20p -2.65%
Renishaw (RSW) 3,464.00p -2.59%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 162.80p -2.51%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 4,505.00p -2.07%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 220.00p -2.00%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,510.00p -1.95%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 154.00p -1.85%
Urban Logistics Reit (SHED) 121.00p -1.47%