London open: Stocks rise ahead of PMIs

London stocks rose in early trade on Wednesday following a positive Asian session, as investors eyed a slew of PMI readings.

At 0835 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 7,300.74.

PMIs for the eurozone, the UK and the US are all due later in the day.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The FTSE 100 has sneaked into positive territory in early trade as risk sentiment has improved a little, but caution is set to dominate on financial markets as investors assess the prospects of high interest rates lingering for longer.

"Wariness has been rippling out ahead of the central bankers’ meet up at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium in Wyoming this weekend. Investors will be eager for clues as to how long the fight against inflation will continue, where interest rates will end up and just how long they will stay at painful levels.

"Investors will also be keeping a close watch on PMI data out this morning, with the snapshot from purchasing managers across a raft of countries in Europe indicating to what extent demand across sectors is slowing, given the higher borrowing costs affecting company and consumer sentiment."

Corporate news was thin on the ground, but Reckitt Benckiser gained as it announced the departure of chief financial officer and executive director Jeff Carr, who plans to retire at the end of March next year.

Shannon Eisenhardt - who currently serves as CFO of consumer, brand and marketplace at Nike - will join the consumer goods group on 17 October as CFO designate to succeed Carr.

JD Sports shot to the top of the FTSE 100, having slumped on Tuesday after a profit warning from Dick’s Sporting Goods in the US.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,300.74 0.41%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,083.02 0.33%
techMARK (TASX) 4,213.57 0.37%

FTSE 100 - Risers

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 143.25p 1.78%
Abrdn (ABDN) 162.10p 1.69%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,336.00p 1.61%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 108.90p 1.59%
Fresnillo (FRES) 545.20p 1.34%
Aviva (AV.) 381.10p 1.33%
3i Group (III) 1,929.00p 1.23%
Prudential (PRU) 953.60p 1.21%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 495.60p 1.20%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 915.20p 1.19%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 2,978.00p -0.47%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 652.80p -0.37%
BP (BP.) 476.60p -0.27%
Rightmove (RMV) 539.00p -0.22%
Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,078.00p -0.13%
F&C Investment Trust (FCIT) 838.00p -0.12%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 221.80p -0.09%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,384.00p -0.08%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,036.00p -0.07%
Experian (EXPN) 2,680.00p -0.07%

FTSE 250 - Risers

AJ Bell (AJB) 293.00p 4.87%
Rotork (ROR) 293.40p 3.16%
Assura (AGR) 44.76p 2.33%
Bank of Georgia Group (BGEO) 3,555.00p 2.30%
Molten Ventures (GROW) 225.00p 2.27%
Helios Towers (HTWS) 87.50p 2.10%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 445.20p 2.02%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 2,855.00p 1.96%
Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 1,964.00p 1.87%
IWG (IWG) 170.00p 1.80%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 681.00p -2.71%
Chemring Group (CHG) 276.00p -1.60%
Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 97.00p -1.42%
Senior (SNR) 167.20p -1.42%
JPMorgan Japanese Inv Trust (JFJ) 456.00p -1.08%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 564.00p -1.05%
Empiric Student Property (ESP) 85.70p -1.04%
Ithaca Energy (ITH) 162.30p -0.92%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 790.00p -0.82%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 252.00p -0.79%