London midday: Stocks turn positive despite escalating Ukraine crisis
London stocks had reversed earlier losses by midday on Tuesday despite escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 7,437.31.
Stocks had opened on the back foot after Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered troops into two breakaway states in eastern Ukraine run by Moscow-backed separatists.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the move suggested that Russia was set on a "full-scale invasion of Ukraine". He is due to outline what sanctions the UK will make against Russia just after midday, while the EU and US will also set out their sanctions later in the day.
Despite the growing crisis, stocks managed to stage a turnaround, helped along by solid results from the likes of Smith & Nephew and InterContinental Hotels.
The former jumped to the top of the FTSE 100 as it reported higher full-year profits and revenue and announced the appointment of a new chief executive.
Meanwhile, IHG gained after it said annual profits more than doubled on the back of a strong final quarter in the US and China as economies recovered from the Covid pandemic.
Shell and BP also gushed higher as oil prices rallied amid the threat of sanctions against Russia, with Brent crude futures topping $97.75 a barrel.
Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: "The intensifying crisis between Russia and Ukraine has raised concerns about the supply disruptions that would ensue as sanctions look set to cripple Russia, the world’s second largest oil exporter and the world’s top natural gas producer.
"If Putin continues his aggression and the threat of war becomes a reality, oil prices could easily push beyond $100 towards $120 a barrel to fresh highs not seen since 2014. Not only are geopolitical tensions supporting the uptrend but the fundamentals of supercharged demand post Covid coupled by constrained supply from OPEC+ continue to support more bullish price action ahead."
Chilean miner Antofagasta rose after it posted growth in full-year profit and revenue thanks to higher copper and molybdenum prices.
On the downside, Hargreaves Lansdown slid after the investment platform reported a 20% decline in interim pre-tax profit and a smaller-than-expected increase in assets under management.
Coca-Cola HBC was also weaker even as the bottling company posted a rise in full-year profit and revenue.
Wood Group tumbled after the energy services provider said it expected to take a one-off $100m charge relating to its Aegis Poland contract as it estimated a bigger loss for the legacy Amec Foster Wheeler project.
HSBC ticked lower despite saying that annual profit more than doubled as lower bad debts more than made up for reduced revenue. Pre-tax profit for the year to the end of December rose to $18.9bn from $8.8bn a year earlier as revenue dipped 2% to $49.6bn.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,496.01 0.16%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,065.70 -0.15%
techMARK (TASX) 4,310.62 0.24%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,227.00p 4.07%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 280.90p 3.39%
Evraz (EVR) 274.90p 2.96%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 2,740.00p 2.62%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 5,004.00p 2.37%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 605.20p 2.20%
Shell (SHEL) 1,984.80p 2.09%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,424.00p 2.01%
Aveva Group (AVV) 2,509.00p 1.99%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 4,711.00p 1.79%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,117.00p -13.94%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,199.00p -5.01%
Abrdn (ABDN) 225.40p -3.51%
Fresnillo (FRES) 674.80p -3.16%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,767.00p -2.40%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,035.50p -2.13%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,049.50p -1.96%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 151.50p -1.94%
St James's Place (STJ) 1,487.00p -1.43%
DCC (CDI) (DCC) 5,984.00p -1.25%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Energean (ENOG) 1,029.00p 6.19%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 732.00p 4.72%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 354.40p 2.84%
Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 206.60p 2.79%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,915.00p 2.68%
Contour Global (GLO) 186.40p 2.19%
SSP Group (SSPG) 282.30p 1.95%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 1,408.00p 1.88%
Discoverie Group (DSCV) 784.00p 1.82%
Capricorn Energy (CNE) 211.40p 1.73%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 201.90p -10.43%
AJ Bell (AJB) 306.20p -4.19%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 3,888.00p -3.91%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 12.78p -3.62%
Pennon Group (PNN) 1,038.00p -2.35%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 282.50p -2.25%
Quilter (QLT) 133.65p -2.23%
Elementis (ELM) 127.40p -2.23%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 212.00p -2.21%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 259.60p -2.04%