London open: Stocks rise ahead of BoE rate decision

London stocks rose in early trade on Thursday as investors eyed another rate hike by the Bank of England.

At 0830 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 7,324.10.

Overnight, the US Federal Reserve lifted rates by 25 basis points as expected, marking the the first rate increase since 2018. The Fed also pencilled in a 25 basis points rate hike at each of the six remaining meetings this year.

On home shores, the BoE is expected to raise rates by a further 25 basis points.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "In some respects, despite its muddled guidance over the last few months, the Bank of England has been ahead of the game when it comes to rate rises.

"Two rate rises since December has put base rates back to 0.5%, still below the levels they were pre-pandemic. With unemployment still low, and average wages still subdued the central bank must be looking with some concern over how much further this run high in inflation is likely to go."

Investors will also continue to keep an eye on any developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, after sentiment was lifted on Wednesday by hopes of progress in peace talks between the two.

In equity markets, specialist lending and retail savings group OSB surged to the top of the FTSE 250 after it reported record full-year profits and announced a £100m share buyback.

Trainline gained after it said that ticket sales and revenues improved in 2022 as it recovered from the impact of the pandemic.

Landscaping products manufacturer Marshalls rose after saying it had delivered record sales and adjusted profitability in 2021, reflecting sustained heightened demand post Covid lockdowns.

On the downside, NatWest, M&G, Anglo American, Hikma, Bellevue Healthcare Trust and Crest Nicholson were all on the back foot as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.

Online supermarket Ocado slid after it said retail revenue fell in the first quarter of 2022 and warned about uncertainty caused by the rising cost of living.

Cineworld was weaker despite saying it had narrowed full-year losses as Covid lockdowns eased globally and that it expected a strong return to trading in March after a hit from the Omicron strain of the virus at the start of 2022.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,324.10 0.44%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,053.22 0.71%
techMARK (TASX) 4,305.88 0.11%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Informa (INF) 605.80p 3.10%
Entain (ENT) 1,626.50p 2.88%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 134.00p 2.17%
Diageo (DGE) 3,670.50p 2.17%
Fresnillo (FRES) 716.00p 2.11%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,557.00p 1.96%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 979.60p 1.91%
Pearson (PSON) 841.80p 1.91%
Rightmove (RMV) 666.40p 1.74%
Halma (HLMA) 2,459.00p 1.74%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,113.50p -7.48%
M&G (MNG) 214.60p -4.92%
NATWEST GROUP PLC ORD 100P (NWG) 215.60p -2.62%
BAE Systems (BA.) 688.60p -2.46%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,621.50p -2.27%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,033.00p -1.41%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,052.00p -0.75%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,450.00p -0.62%
Tesco (TSCO) 276.05p -0.58%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 5,743.00p -0.47%

FTSE 250 - Risers

OSB Group (OSB) 531.50p 11.75%
Trainline (TRN) 209.80p 5.22%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 265.00p 4.54%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 168.70p 4.52%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 2.30p 4.45%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 257.50p 4.04%
Genuit Group (GEN) 528.00p 3.53%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 92.00p 3.39%
Pantheon International (PIN) 320.00p 3.23%
FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 940.00p 3.18%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 702.00p -3.31%
Bellevue Healthcare Trust (Red) (BBH) 168.00p -2.89%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 290.60p -2.81%
The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited (TRIG) 133.60p -2.62%
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 173.40p -1.81%
BMO Global Smaller Companies (BGSC) 153.00p -1.67%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 164.50p -1.47%
Alliance Trust (ATST) 952.00p -1.45%
Chrysalis Investments Limited NPV (CHRY) 176.00p -1.12%
Contour Global (GLO) 187.40p -1.06%