London midday: Stocks maintain gains as investors mull data slew
London stocks were still firmly in the black by midday on Tuesday, having taken their cue from a positive session on Wall Street, as investors digested a raft of UK data releases.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.8% at 7,525.79.
Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: "European markets are making a fresh start in February, attempting to put the January gyrations to one side as all major bourses trade in the green with financials and basic recourses leading the gains. The DAX is leading the charge up by 1% while the FTSE 100 stages convincing gains pushing away from support at 7,500 with 7,550 the near-term resistance level to eye.
"Amid the market turmoil in January with the S&P 500 logging its worst month since March 2020 and with Europe’s Stoxx 600 suffering its sharpest decline since October 2020, the FTSE 100 managed to buck the downtrend, eking out a modest 1.1% monthly gain. Having fallen out of favour since Brexit, the rotation away from US tech has provided an opportunity for the FTSE 100 to play catch up, thanks to the indices in vogue leaning towards energy and financials and its attractive valuations.
"There is also a sense among investors that despite the naysayers, the City of London has upheld its position as a leading global financial hub post Brexit, with international flows returning to the UK market."
On the macro front, a survey showed UK manufacturing output strengthened in January but new order growth slowed.
The IHS Markit/CIPS purchasing managers' index eased to 57.3 from 57.9 a month earlier, remaining well above the reading of 50 that separates growth from shrinkage.
Separate data from the Bank of England showed that mortgage approvals jumped in December, beating expectations.
According the central bank’s latest Money and Credit report, there were 71,015 approvals for house purchases in December, up from 67,859 a month earlier. Most analysts were expecting a slight fall, to around 65,900.
Net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals was £3.6bn, down slightly on November’s £3.8bn, while gross lending fell to £21.7bn from £22.4bn month-on-month.
Elsewhere, the latest Nationwide house price index showed annual house price growth rose to 11.2% in January, compared to 10.4% in December. The above-consensus rise was the highest since June 2021, and the strongest start to the year for 17 years. Analysts had been expecting growth closer to 10.9%.
Month-on-month, prices rose by 0.8% which, once seasonal effects were accounted for, was the sixth consecutive monthly increase. It was below December’s rise of 1.1% but ahead of forecasts; most analysts had been expecting a rise of around 0.6%.
The average price of a property now stands at £255,556, compared to £254,822 a month previously.
In equity markets, miners were among the standout gainers as metals prices rose, with Anglo American, Glencore and Antofagasta all higher.
Tech-focused investment trust Scottish Mortgage was the top performer on the FTSE 100 following a strong performance from US tech stocks overnight.
Elsewhere, lender Virgin Money dipped into the red despite lifting guidance for its net interest margin - the difference between borrowing and savings rates - as the economy recovered from the Covid pandemic and inflation pushed up the cost of loans.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,525.79 0.82%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,193.54 1.22%
techMARK (TASX) 4,440.94 0.26%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,122.50p 4.03%
Fresnillo (FRES) 642.00p 2.75%
Experian (EXPN) 3,159.00p 2.53%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,086.00p 2.36%
Glencore (GLEN) 391.80p 2.30%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,366.00p 2.29%
Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,974.00p 2.26%
Rightmove (RMV) 664.40p 2.25%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 539.40p 2.24%
3i Group (III) 1,400.50p 2.23%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,467.00p -2.46%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 8,448.00p -1.96%
Pearson (PSON) 605.20p -1.63%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 128.08p -1.49%
Admiral Group (ADM) 3,124.00p -0.64%
Avast (AVST) 610.00p -0.52%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 289.30p -0.48%
Unilever (ULVR) 3,774.00p -0.36%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,637.40p -0.34%
BT Group (BT.A) 194.95p -0.31%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 301.50p 5.42%
BB Healthcare Trust (Red) (BBH) 173.80p 4.07%
Edinburgh Worldwide Inv Trust (EWI) 236.50p 3.96%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 15.56p 3.94%
Petershill Partners (PHLL) 223.50p 3.71%
Herald Investment Trust (HRI) 2,100.00p 3.70%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 1,318.00p 3.62%
Molten Ventures (GROW) 791.00p 3.53%
C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 229.20p 3.52%
Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 195.60p 3.44%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Playtech (PTEC) 563.00p -3.60%
Darktrace (DARK) 393.20p -3.58%
Currys (CURY) 103.40p -2.73%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,888.00p -2.68%
Workspace Group (WKP) 833.00p -1.36%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 180.50p -1.31%
Clarkson (CKN) 3,255.00p -1.21%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 220.10p -1.03%
Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited NPV (SONG) 117.00p -1.02%
Apax Global Alpha Limited (APAX) 209.50p -0.95%