London open: Stocks recover as May expected to confirm departure date
London stocks rose in early trade on Friday following heavy losses in the previous session, amid reports that Prime Minister Theresa May will confirm her exit date later in the day.
At 0835 BST, the FTSE 100 was 0.6% firmer at 7,270.62, while the pound was up 0.1% against the dollar at 1.2667, still hovering around four-month lows, and flat versus the euro at 1.1319.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: “If the morning’s gains are predicated on anything beyond a post-plunge rebound, it is likely Donald Trump’s latest comments. While labelling Huawei as ‘something that is very dangerous’, the President nevertheless went on to state that it is possible the tech company would ‘be included in some kind of trade deal’.
“That confusing statement potentially pushes open, however slightly, a door that was about to slam shut, and makes June’s G20 summit in Osaka even more interesting.”
Campbell said it was notable that sterling avoided another round of losses as the session began.
“Speculation is that Theresa May - fingers bloodied and near broken from clinging onto the Premiership for so long - is finally going to announce her resignation date, with reports suggesting she will step down as leader by June 10,” he said, adding that the pound seems pretty calm about it all at the moment.
“Given its morose May, however, that still leaves it in a terrible state,” Campbell said.
On the data front, investors will be eyeing the release of UK retail sales figures at 0930 BST.
In equity markets, Informa rallied as the publishing and events company said it traded well in the first four months of 2019 and was confident about meeting expectations for annual results.
Thermal processing specialist Bodycote edged higher after it maintained full-year guidance as group revenue for the four months of to April 30 rose 1% to £245m.
Spectris gained as it said trading in the first four months of the year had been in line with expectations, with like-for-like sales up 3% despite a moderation in some of its end markets.
Royal Mail was a high riser following heavy losses a day earlier and on the back of an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Goldman Sachs and to ‘hold’ at Liberum.
Vodafone was boosted by an upgrade to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ at HSBC, while Mitchells & Butlers fizzed higher thanks to an upgrade to ‘buy at Citi and Serco was lifted by an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Liberum.
On the downside, South Africa-based financial services company Old Mutual was under the cosh after saying it had suspended chief executive officer Peter Moyo with immediate effect due to “a material breakdown in trust”.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,270.62 0.55%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,134.66 0.54%
techMARK (TASX) 3,532.31 0.46%
FTSE 100 - Risers
NMC Health (NMC) 2,483.00p 1.85%
Evraz (EVR) 597.40p 1.84%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,225.00p 1.74%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,933.00p 1.68%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 385.70p 1.66%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,661.50p 1.57%
ITV (ITV) 111.10p 1.55%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 1,983.40p 1.47%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 125.12p 1.46%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 751.00p 1.46%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Pearson (PSON) 800.40p -0.82%
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 5,754.00p -0.48%
Centrica (CNA) 93.16p -0.47%
Carnival (CCL) 3,937.00p -0.28%
Ferguson (FERG) 5,186.00p -0.27%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 887.70p -0.26%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,812.00p -0.25%
Croda International (CRDA) 5,105.00p -0.20%
BAE Systems (BA.) 452.20p -0.18%
Fresnillo (FRES) 731.80p -0.14%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 224.60p 5.30%
Royal Mail (RMG) 206.10p 4.14%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 182.50p 3.93%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 273.20p 3.48%
Ted Baker (TED) 1,489.00p 3.19%
Premier Oil (PMO) 84.44p 2.98%
Amigo Holdings (AMGO) 217.00p 2.84%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 632.60p 2.46%
Serco Group (SRP) 133.30p 2.46%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 426.30p 2.30%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Polypipe Group (PLP) 412.60p -2.46%
FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 953.00p -2.06%
AJ Bell (AJB) 413.00p -1.90%
Sanne Group (SNN) 666.00p -1.77%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 410.30p -1.54%
Kier Group (KIE) 298.40p -1.06%
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 462.00p -0.86%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,422.00p -0.84%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 360.10p -0.77%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 155.60p -0.77%