London open: Stocks rise on Ukraine peace talk hopes

London stocks rose in early trade on Tuesday amid hopes of progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks.

At 0910 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.7% at 7,526.55.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Having tripped over on Monday afternoon amid concern about China lockdowns and the conflict in Ukraine the FTSE 100 sprang back to its feet on Tuesday on hopes the latest round of peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv might yield tangible progress.

"Suggestions the Russian side are softening some of their previous demands raised spirits, but the market is unlikely to take anything for granted when it comes to the machinations of Vladimir Putin.

"The resilience of global stocks given the cocktail of risks facing the global economy is truly impressive but this stoicism is likely to face continuing tests as the impact of mounting prices and the actions of central banks continue to feed through, not to mention the ongoing geopolitical concerns.

"The FTSE 100 has proved to be better placed than most thanks to relatively cheap valuations, strong income credentials and exposure to surging commodity markets, however it is not immune to the current pressures."

In equity markets, Admiral was up after Barclays upgraded the stock to ‘overweight’ from ‘equalweight’ and said it was turning more optimistic following its share price underperformance.

Russia-focused miner Polymetal International surged after saying it was considering changes to its corporate structure including "distinct ownership in various jurisdictions" where the company operates. Polymetal said deliberations were at an early stage.

Currys rallied after markets blog Betaville suggested potential takeover interest in the electricals retailer.

On the downside, Barclays shares slumped after a share placing. According to terms seen by Bloomberg, 575m shares in the bank were placed via Goldman Sachs, at a range of between 147.50p and 150.75p a share. A trader said it was "unconfirmed whether it was Qatar Investment Authority" who sold the shares.

Royal Mail was dented by a downgrade to ‘sell’ from ‘hold’ at Deutsche, which also slashed its price target to 275p from 680p.

Bellway was on the back foot even as the housebuilder announced a big increase in its dividend and a reduction in dividend cover as it reported an 8.9% jump in underlying first-half profit.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,526.55 0.71%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,206.08 0.65%
techMARK (TASX) 4,348.18 0.61%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Airtel Africa (AAF) 143.80p 3.08%
Prudential (PRU) 1,108.50p 3.07%
Fresnillo (FRES) 747.00p 3.01%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,036.00p 2.73%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,118.50p 2.66%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,630.50p 2.58%
Rightmove (RMV) 657.40p 2.27%
Croda International (CRDA) 7,688.00p 2.18%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 142.88p 2.12%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,583.00p 1.85%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Barclays (BARC) 153.06p -4.62%
Royal Mail (RMG) 344.20p -2.96%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,243.50p -1.68%
BAE Systems (BA.) 722.40p -1.26%
Avast (AVST) 569.20p -0.80%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 555.60p -0.61%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,651.00p -0.54%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,029.00p -0.44%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,967.00p -0.34%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 7,838.00p -0.33%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Polymetal International (POLY) 335.80p 38.19%
Currys (CURY) 102.10p 9.96%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 332.00p 4.90%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 348.80p 4.56%
IWG (IWG) 269.30p 3.82%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 172.40p 3.79%
Liontrust Asset Management (LIO) 1,278.00p 3.73%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 53.00p 3.60%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 956.00p 3.35%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 959.40p 3.14%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Babcock International Group (BAB) 332.50p -3.62%
HGCapital Trust (HGT) 424.00p -1.85%
Bellway (BWY) 2,555.00p -1.73%
Chemring Group (CHG) 322.00p -1.23%
Investec (INVP) 490.90p -0.85%
VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 502.00p -0.79%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 233.40p -0.77%
International Public Partnerships Ltd. (INPP) 170.60p -0.70%
Clarkson (CKN) 3,865.00p -0.64%
Vistry Group (VTY) 943.40p -0.57%