London open: Stocks rise ahead of inflation data; Burberry bucks trend

Stocks in London rose in early trade, rebounding from the previous day’s losses as investors sifted through earnings ahead of some key inflation data.

At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.9% to 7,007.32 . Meanwhile, oil prices edged higher, with West Texas Intermediate up 0.7% at $50.31 a barrel and Brent crude up 0.7% at $51.88.

The main focus on the macroeconomic front will be on UK CPI, RPI and PPI, all of which are scheduled for release at 0930 BST.

CMC Markets’ Michael Hewson said: “Today’s inflation numbers for September are expected to reinforce the recent rise in inflation expectations when CPI is expected to show a rise from 0.6% to 0.9%, while RPI is expected to rise from 1.8% to 2%.

“It is also worth keeping an eye on input prices, they rose 7.6% in August, and they are likely to stay at these levels and potentially head higher in the coming months, which is likely to pose a problem for retailers looking to maintain their margins.”

At the same time, investors sank their teeth into the latest earnings.

Bookmaker William Hill was in the black despite being forced to withdraw from merger talks with Canadian online poker giant Amaya following objections from its major shareholders.

FTSE 250 housebuilder Bellway rallied after reporting a rise in full-year profit as it lifted its dividend by 40% and said demand has remained solid despite the Brexit vote.

Recruiter Hays gained after posting growth in net fee income for the first quarter as a strong performance in Asia Pacific and Continental Europe & Rest of world offset declines in the UK and Ireland market.

Smiths Group nudged up after announcing it has established a €2.5bn euro medium term note programme with its ten relationship banks as dealers.

Vodafone ticked a little higher as it said it has partnered with Iran’s HiWeb to provide telecoms infrastructure and internet of things services which would expand its presence in the country.

On the downside, luxury retailer Burberry slumped after it said like-for-like sales improved in the second quarter but for the full year its expected benefit from currency movements is not as big as analyst forecasts.

Budget airline Ryanair flew a little lower after cutting its net profit guidance for full-year 2017 by 5% due to the weakening of the pound following Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.

In the US, CPI is at 1330 BST, while the NAHB housing market index is at 1500 BST.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,998.55 0.73%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,937.91 0.82%
techMARK (TASX) 3,537.82 0.57%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,000.00p 2.64%
Informa (INF) 676.00p 2.27%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,643.00p 2.18%
Schroders (SDR) 2,798.00p 2.01%
Capita (CPI) 594.50p 1.89%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,860.00p 1.87%
Tesco (TSCO) 205.00p 1.84%
Next (NXT) 4,586.00p 1.82%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,634.50p 1.78%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 476.80p 1.73%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,415.00p -6.42%
Pearson (PSON) 736.50p -3.41%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 3,521.00p -1.87%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 374.60p -0.77%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 219.80p -0.72%
Sky (SKY) 836.00p -0.18%
GKN (GKN) 328.70p -0.09%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 7,361.00p 0.03%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 3,822.00p 0.10%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,157.00p 0.17%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Aggreko (AGK) 962.50p 4.96%
Bellway (BWY) 2,326.00p 3.38%
Riverstone Energy Limited (RSE) 1,150.00p 2.50%
Countryside Properties (CSP) 237.49p 2.46%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 262.20p 2.42%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 268.30p 2.40%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 284.20p 2.34%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 272.80p 2.33%
SIG (SHI) 115.80p 2.21%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 327.70p 2.18%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

PayPoint (PAY) 1,067.00p -3.00%
Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 1,726.00p -1.99%
Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 259.70p -1.44%
Scottish Inv Trust (SCIN) 732.00p -0.61%
Fidelity European Values (FEV) 182.00p -0.55%
Metro Bank (MTRO) 2,644.00p -0.49%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 253.50p -0.35%
Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate (KWE) 996.00p -0.35%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,479.00p -0.34%
Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 484.80p -0.33%