London close: Stocks turn weaker in afternoon trading
London stocks closed just below the waterline on Wednesday as investors sifted through results from the likes of Smurfit Kappa and Dunelm.
The FTSE 100 ended the session down 0.11% at 6,524.36, and the FTSE 250 was off 0.55% at 20,996.44.
Sterling was in the green, however, last rising 0.17% against the dollar to trade at $1.3841, and gaining 0.11% on the euro to €1.1414.
“The steady gains of recent sessions appear to have lulled many into a false sense of security, which has been rudely dispelled by the slight weakness in equity markets,” said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.
“Indeed the main action has been in forex markets, which have seen further weakness for the US dollar as CPI came in only in line with forecasts, arguably giving the Biden administration further room for fiscal stimulus.”
Beauchamp said a Powell speech later in the day would also keep sentiment in check, and with equities having been so strong of late it looks like this market is back searching for a reason to edge lower.
“The overall tone of markets remains strong however, and we have seen traders step in to buy any kind of dip of late, with no expectation that this will change in the near-term.”
In equity markets, miners were among the winners, with Glencore up 2.7%, Anglo American rising 4.75%, Rio Tinto advancing 2.63%, and BHP 1.25% higher.
Smurfit Kappa added 1.64% after the packaging company posted forecast-beating final earnings, boosted by strong demand in Europe and America.
Sector peer DS Smith also gained, finishing the session 2.09% firmer.
Dunelm jumped 6.19% as the homewares retailer resumed dividend payments and posted a rise in first-half profits driven by higher online sales as tougher Covid-19 lockdown restrictions closed its stores.
On the downside, online supermarket Ocado slid 5.45% as Barclays reiterated its ‘underweight’ rating on the stock.
The bank said it was disappointed and surprised that "2020 did not see any new deals inked".
Watches of Switzerland slipped 0.76% after private equity firm Apollo Global Management placed 22 million shares in the company.
Redrow fell 3.76% even as the housebuilder reinstated dividends and posted an 11% rise in first-half profit, as customers rushed to buy homes before the end of government incentives next month.
Berkeley Group was down 4.53%, Barratt Developments lost 2.52%, Crest Nicholson was down 5.18%, and Vistry closed 5.03% lower.
Elsewhere, JD Sports Fashion was knocked 1.38% lower by a rating downgrade at Exane.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,524.36 -0.11%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,996.44 -0.55%
techMARK (TASX) 4,118.89 -0.74%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Anglo American (AAL) 2,713.00p 4.75%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,922.00p 2.63%
Glencore (GLEN) 270.30p 2.62%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 371.70p 2.42%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 3,614.00p 2.09%
Prudential (PRU) 1,295.50p 1.93%
Aviva (AV.) 348.10p 1.87%
British Land Company (BLND) 468.10p 1.67%
Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 710.00p 1.66%
Evraz (EVR) 513.40p 1.46%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Ocado Group (OCDO) 2,511.00p -7.00%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,400.50p -4.66%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,193.00p -4.53%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 158.95p -4.19%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,707.00p -2.73%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 679.00p -2.67%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 149.90p -2.60%
Next (NXT) 7,668.00p -2.29%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,878.00p -2.07%
Flutter Entertainment (FLTR) 13,915.00p -2.01%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 1,339.00p 6.19%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 76.12p 3.81%
Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 161.50p 3.39%
Drax Group (DRX) 401.20p 3.30%
Elementis (ELM) 122.50p 3.29%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 28.40p 3.27%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 2,164.00p 3.20%
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 773.00p 3.00%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 318.40p 2.91%
Biffa (BIFF) 242.50p 2.75%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 480.60p -8.28%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 695.50p -6.64%
Bellway (BWY) 2,930.00p -6.09%
Vistry Group (VTY) 876.50p -5.19%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 315.00p -5.18%
SSP Group (SSPG) 317.00p -5.09%
Countryside Properties (CSP) 451.40p -4.57%
C&C Group (CCR) 239.50p -4.39%
Redrow (RDW) 550.00p -3.76%
easyJet (EZJ) 760.80p -3.45%