London open: Stocks rise on positive US cues; Vodafone rallies

London stocks rose in early trade on Monday, taking their cue from Wall Street, where equity markets closed out the week in the black.

At 0825 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.55% at 7,504.43.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "Amid the global tightening cycle, the UK is also expected to raise interest rates again this week to 0.5% from the current 0.25% in an attempt to put the brakes on inflation, thus lessening the effect of the emerging cost of living crisis.

"The decision also comes at a fragile time, with the associated additional costs for businesses weighing against the assumed rise in hospitality and to some extent consumer sales, as the variant begins to subside and restrictions have all but disappeared.

"In the meantime, the market has taken its lead from the late rebound in the US trading session which also followed through to some strength in Asian markets. While the broad mark-up of shares in early exchanges takes the FTSE 100 to stand ahead by 1.7% in the year to date, the situation remains delicately poised and the current levels of volatility are likely to be echoed by a continuation of the currently skittish sentiment."

In equity markets, Vodafone was the standout gainer on the top-flight index following reports the telecoms company has been targeted by activist investor Cevian, putting management under pressure to revamp its struggling performance. The Sweden-based investment firm has built up holdings in the communications giant in recent months, which has seen its share price almost halved in value since 2018. It also holds stakes in insurer Aviva and educational publisher Pearson.

Pearson also rose after saying it had bought the remaining 80% of skills verification operator Credly it does not own for an undisclosed sum.

Barratt Development was on the rise after Sky News City editor Mark Kleinman tweeted over the weekend that the housebuilders was set to announce its "first significant corporate acquisition for years", with the target being "a smaller regional player".

Elsewhere, British Airways and Iberia parent IAG was a high flier after Morgan Stanley resumed coverage of the shares at ‘overweight’.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,504.43 0.51%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,826.06 0.84%
techMARK (TASX) 4,429.45 0.66%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Vodafone Group (VOD) 131.80p 3.28%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,060.00p 3.11%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 157.60p 2.17%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,207.00p 2.09%
Pearson (PSON) 618.20p 1.98%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,467.50p 1.77%
Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,908.00p 1.64%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 114.80p 1.57%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,800.00p 1.52%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 2,705.00p 1.50%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 296.00p -1.04%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,750.00p -0.93%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,292.00p -0.89%
Tesco (TSCO) 300.90p -0.82%
Avast (AVST) 607.40p -0.56%
Glencore (GLEN) 391.20p -0.52%
Fresnillo (FRES) 628.60p -0.51%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,949.50p -0.48%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,362.00p -0.45%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,152.00p -0.40%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 226.50p 4.62%
Premier Foods (PFD) 120.00p 3.99%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 313.50p 3.47%
Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 278.50p 2.77%
Darktrace (DARK) 410.00p 2.65%
Monks Inv Trust (MNKS) 1,138.00p 2.52%
JPMorgan Japanese Inv Trust (JFJ) 544.00p 2.45%
Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 2,278.00p 2.43%
Vistry Group (VTY) 1,026.50p 2.29%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 259.40p 2.25%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Petropavlovsk (POG) 14.00p -2.85%
Greencore Group (CDI) (GNC) 121.00p -2.81%
Playtech (PTEC) 604.00p -1.71%
National Express Group (NEX) 247.40p -1.43%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 227.50p -1.30%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 228.80p -1.04%
Ibstock (IBST) 195.00p -0.56%
Synthomer (SYNT) 371.80p -0.43%
Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 106.60p -0.37%
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 724.60p -0.36%