London open: Stocks steady but Tesco slumps after results

London stocks were steady in early trade on Wednesday, held back by a stronger pound and disappointing results from Tesco, as investors awaited further news on the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine that has been paused amid blood clot concerns.

At 0900 BST, the FTSE 100 was flat at 6,892.23.

Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "Easing bond yields didn’t do much for Europe, with the markets eerily quiet at Wednesday’s open.

"The index’s hopes of rebuilding momentum were in part harmed by Tesco, which fell more than 3% following its full year update.

"In many ways it was a banner 12-months for Britain’s biggest supermarket, its pandemic offerings wooing customers away from its rivals and leading group sales 8.8% higher to £53.4bn. Yet Covid-related costs were an unavoidable factor, causing profits to plummet."

The top-flight index was also hampered by a rebounding pound, which added 0.3% against the dollar. A stronger pound tends to dent the FTSE 100 as around 70% of its constituents derive most of their earnings from overseas.

In equity markets, Tesco was in the red after it reported an unchanged annual dividend and a 20% drop in annual profit after Covid-19 costs outweighed higher revenue.

Airtel Africa tumbled after an unnamed institutional seller sold a 1.3% stake in the telecommunications company in a placing. The seller placed 50m shares in Airtel at 75p each.

On the upside, QinetiQ surged after saying its annual results are set to beat market expectations after a strong fourth quarter.

EasyJet was also a high riser after it said headline pre-tax losses for the first half will be slightly better than analysts’ expectations thanks to cost-cutting, and that it anticipates a pick-up in passenger numbers from late May.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,892.23 0.03%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,238.67 -0.13%
techMARK (TASX) 4,313.55 0.23%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Glencore (GLEN) 293.80p 2.41%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,758.50p 1.91%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 2,091.00p 1.46%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,921.00p 1.43%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,091.50p 1.33%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,216.00p 1.08%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 7,704.00p 1.08%
BAE Systems (BA.) 507.20p 0.92%
Aveva Group (AVV) 3,890.00p 0.91%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 430.30p 0.80%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Tesco (TSCO) 224.35p -3.34%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 918.40p -2.38%
BT Group (BT.A) 148.75p -1.36%
Persimmon (PSN) 3,135.00p -1.29%
Ferguson (FERG) 9,094.00p -1.26%
Barclays (BARC) 184.56p -1.21%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 132.52p -1.16%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 240.00p -1.15%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 185.90p -1.09%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 777.00p -0.99%

FTSE 250 - Risers

QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 343.80p 7.10%
easyJet (EZJ) 946.40p 2.42%
Chemring Group (CHG) 280.50p 2.00%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 383.20p 1.75%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 1,705.00p 1.49%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 46.04p 1.45%
Ultra Electronics Holdings (ULE) 2,098.00p 1.35%
Hammerson (HMSO) 36.96p 1.29%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 317.50p 1.28%
Drax Group (DRX) 418.20p 1.16%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Airtel Africa (AAF) 73.70p -13.09%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 499.00p -2.54%
Paragon Banking Group (PAG) 476.40p -2.30%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 120.80p -2.11%
Centrica (CNA) 56.00p -1.75%
Redrow (RDW) 656.20p -1.62%
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 193.05p -1.53%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 409.20p -1.40%
Greencore Group (CDI) (GNC) 158.60p -1.37%
Provident Financial (PFG) 237.00p -1.33%