London open: Stocks rise despite US, Asian losses; Greggs rallies after update
London stocks rose in early trade on Tuesday despite weak sessions in the US and Asia, with a strong showing from bakery chain Greggs after it lifted its outlook.
At 0840 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.6% at 7,049.77.
Oanda market analyst Jeffrey Halley said: "I am expecting global stock markets to wildly chase their tails this week, lost on the noise and swings of market sentiment until, hopefully, the US non-farm payrolls restores some directional order on Friday.
"The game of blink surrounding the mid-month debt ceiling legislation deadline is introducing a heightened uncertainty. Although if a cliff is driven off, the Fed will surely be there to open the spigots once again, never bad for stock markets. I’m not sure when both major parties in the US decided their job was to deliberately sabotage each other’s efforts on every level, instead of being reasoned opponents, but there we have it."
In equity markets, Greggs - famous for its sausage rolls - was a high riser after it said the full-year outcome was set to be ahead of its previous expectations following a strong sales performance in the third quarter, although it also warned over inflationary pressures.
The company said two-year like-for-like sales were up 3.5% in the third quarter despite staffing and supply chain disruption.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "Greggs’ no-nonsense, value approach has succeeded where others have struggled, despite broader pressures outside of its control.
"Strategically, the company’s imaginative marketing ploys have also been successful, particularly the more recent vegan-friendly food and drink ranges, with themed offerings such as Halloween to follow. Greggs will also be outlining its plans for new stores at an upcoming Capital Markets Day, offering the fact in advance that pre-pandemic company-managed stores returned 42% on capital and franchised stores 33%."
On the downside, aerospace and motoring engineer Melrose fell after saying it expected the global shortage of semi-conductors to hit its automotive division following a rise in customer cancellations in the first quarter.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,049.77 0.55%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,770.88 0.51%
techMARK (TASX) 4,565.64 0.62%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,710.00p 3.29%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,475.00p 2.68%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,298.00p 2.61%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,636.00p 2.40%
Informa (INF) 583.20p 2.21%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 14,770.00p 1.86%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 45.58p 1.74%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,541.00p 1.65%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 1,051.00p 1.59%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,888.50p 1.56%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Melrose Industries (MRO) 167.80p -1.81%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,365.00p -0.80%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 5,615.00p -0.72%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,796.00p -0.34%
Unilever (ULVR) 3,938.50p -0.25%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,606.00p -0.15%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 3,405.00p -0.15%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 187.64p -0.14%
SSE (SSE) 1,566.00p -0.10%
Meggitt (MGGT) 742.60p -0.05%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 195.50p 5.68%
Greggs (GRG) 2,997.00p 4.32%
Reach (RCH) 351.00p 2.63%
Henderson Smaller Companies Inv Trust (HSL) 1,224.00p 2.34%
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 194.05p 2.24%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 377.80p 2.11%
Future (FUTR) 3,658.00p 1.89%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 3,065.00p 1.83%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 224.50p 1.81%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 101.80p 1.80%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,660.00p -1.78%
BH Macro Ltd. GBP Shares (BHMG) 3,570.00p -1.65%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 1,762.00p -1.21%
Baillie Gifford Japan Trust (BGFD) 971.00p -1.12%
Workspace Group (WKP) 822.00p -1.02%
Moonpig Group (MOON) 299.60p -0.86%
Hill & Smith Holdings (HILS) 1,706.00p -0.81%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 330.00p -0.72%
BMO Global Smaller Companies (BGSC) 163.20p -0.61%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 236.80p -0.59%