London midday: Stocks remain subdued in quiet trade; Burberry bounces higher on upgrade
London stocks had nudged a touch higher by midday, but trade was quiet and expected to remain that way as US markets will be closed for Independence Day.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 7,613.42, while the pound was flat versus the dollar and the euro at 1.2577 and 1.1145, respectively.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "Following Wednesday’s gains - which included the Dow Jones getting in a fresh all-time high before its Independence Day break - the markets appeared to pause on Thursday."
In equity markets, luxury brand Burberry was the standout gainer after an upgrade to 'outperform' from 'neutral' at MainFirst, which also upped its price target on the stock to 2,150p from 1,800p.
Associated British Foods gained after it said group revenue rose 3% for the 40 weeks to June 22 at constant currency as it maintained its outlook for the full year. The company said it expected good profit growth in Primark and, on an underlying basis, in its grocery operations.
Nicholas Hyett, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Primark continues to deliver a very impressive performance in a tough retail environment without the aid of the online businesses that’s keeping most retailers’ necks above water. Offering shoppers value for money when rivals are struggling has seen Primark seize market share in the UK, and the proposition is proving attractive overseas too, with a reasonable performance in Europe and promising noises emerging from the fledgling US business.
"The retail performance is unfortunately being soured by the struggling sugar operations, where the end of quotas has seen sugar prices plummet. The good news is that conditions seem to be stabilising. Throw in a good performance from ABF’s branded groceries business, which includes Twinings, Ovaltine and balsamic vinegar brand Acetum, and it looks like the rest of the sprawling empire might finally be set to support rather than undermine the success on the high street.”
Energean Oil & Gas rallied after agreeing to buy Edison's oil and natural gas business for an initial consideration of $750m.
Great Portland Estates ticked higher as it hailed "continued positive activity" over the first quarter, with "healthy" leasing.
Wealth manager Quilter rose after saying it is mulling the sale of its Old Mutual Wealth Life Assurance business as it announced a strategic review of the unit.
Persimmon was little changed as the housebuilder reported a drop in first-half revenue as its focus on improving customer service meant order intake slowed.
William Hill was in focus as it confirmed plans to close 700 betting shops, putting 4,500 jobs at risk. The bookmaker pointed to a "significant" drop in gaming machine revenues since the government reduced the maximum stake on fixed-odd betting terminals to £2 in April.
Dixons Carphone was also in the spotlight after Retail Week reported that it’s planning to axe 140 jobs across its central functions, mostly at its head office in Acton.
Ex-dividend stocks were taking just under four points off the FTSE 100 and nearly 14 points off the 250, with IAG, Aveva, Coca-Cola HBC, Next, Babcock, Homeserve, Paragon Banking, TalkTalk and Workspace all in the frame.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,613.42 0.05%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,813.88 0.12%
techMARK (TASX) 3,754.85 0.07%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,954.00p 2.17%
Carnival (CCL) 3,586.00p 1.76%
Flutter Entertainment (FLTR) 6,958.00p 1.75%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 133.61p 1.67%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 280.25p 1.43%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 201.02p 1.30%
St James's Place (STJ) 1,150.00p 1.23%
Prudential (PRU) 1,787.75p 1.12%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 859.20p 1.06%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 209.10p 1.01%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,865.00p -6.80%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 456.10p -6.33%
Evraz (EVR) 651.60p -3.09%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 9,145.00p -2.71%
Aveva Group (AVV) 4,063.05p -2.56%
Halma (HLMA) 2,055.30p -1.85%
Fresnillo (FRES) 860.80p -1.67%
BHP Group (BHP) 2,013.50p -1.52%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,123.00p -1.39%
Next (NXT) 5,398.00p -1.35%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Energean Oil & Gas (ENOG) 931.00p 10.70%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 604.00p 3.21%
Stagecoach Group (SGC) 127.00p 2.75%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 145.10p 2.69%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 3,630.00p 2.57%
Bank of Georgia Group (BGEO) 1,505.00p 2.45%
Synthomer (SYNT) 384.60p 2.29%
Funding Circle Holdings (FCH) 126.80p 2.26%
Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 2,098.00p 2.14%
Royal Mail (RMG) 216.20p 2.13%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Babcock International Group (BAB) 445.10p -4.34%
Future (FUTR) 952.59p -3.78%
Contour Global (GLO) 179.20p -3.66%
Amigo Holdings (AMGO) 179.60p -3.02%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 269.90p -2.91%
Diploma (DPLM) 1,443.50p -2.47%
Premier Oil (PMO) 73.08p -2.38%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 195.20p -2.30%
Workspace Group (WKP) 879.00p -2.01%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 110.50p -1.95%