London open: Stocks edge higher in quiet trade
London stocks edged higher in early trade on Wednesday but markets lacked any real direction, with many traders away from their desks for the half-term holiday.
At 0850 BST, the FTSE 100 was 0.4% higher at 7,105.56.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "Though it couldn’t match yesterday’s growth, the FTSE’s early gains still lifted it to a recent high."
He noted that the top-flight index is now above 7,100 for the first time since 10 May and only 70 or so points from matching the 14-month peak struck on that date.
"Looking at the trading landscape this Wednesday, however, and a low energy open may make it difficult for the FTSE to significantly make strides towards those levels," he said. "Wednesday could be a day where the markets tread water, saving their energies for the US jobs focused sessions on Thursday and Friday, which bring the unemployment claims and latest non-farm data respectively."
On the UK macro front, consumer credit, mortgage approvals and M4 money supply figures for April are all due at 0930 BST.
In equity markets, East Europe-focused budget carrier Wizz Air fell after it reported a €576m net loss for the year as revenue and passenger numbers plunged amid the coronavirus pandemic. The company also said it would post another loss in 2022 unless travel restrictions were lifted quickly and permanently.
The loss compared with a profit of €281m a year ago, the carrier said. Revenue fell 73.2% to €739m as passenger numbers slumped 74.6% to 10m.
Elsewhere, Airtel Africa gained after agreeing the sale of its Tanzania tower portfolio to a joint venture owned by a subsidiary of SBA Communications Corp and Paradigm Infrastructure for around $175m.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,105.56 0.35%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,928.37 0.23%
techMARK (TASX) 4,389.47 0.27%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Burberry Group (BRBY) 2,165.00p 2.70%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,919.00p 2.32%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,332.80p 1.99%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,397.40p 1.66%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,604.00p 1.36%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 110.38p 1.32%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 6,486.00p 1.25%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 7,566.00p 1.12%
Diageo (DGE) 3,443.50p 1.07%
BP (BP.) 318.10p 1.06%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,587.50p -1.18%
Fresnillo (FRES) 906.80p -0.90%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 174.55p -0.85%
Persimmon (PSN) 3,211.00p -0.83%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 174.85p -0.79%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,694.50p -0.79%
DCC (CDI) (DCC) 6,040.00p -0.79%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,972.50p -0.78%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 768.00p -0.78%
Pearson (PSON) 837.20p -0.69%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,180.00p 3.32%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,254.00p 2.45%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 57.28p 2.36%
Genus (GNS) 5,225.00p 2.25%
Hammerson (HMSO) 40.22p 2.18%
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 773.60p 1.98%
Baillie Gifford Japan Trust (BGFD) 1,056.00p 1.93%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 93.06p 1.88%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 241.10p 1.86%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 3,075.00p 1.82%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Volution Group (FAN) 437.50p -2.45%
Greencore Group (CDI) (GNC) 140.10p -2.23%
SSP Group (SSPG) 296.90p -2.01%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 4,800.00p -1.56%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 460.20p -1.33%
UK Commercial Property Reit Limited (UKCM) 78.70p -1.25%
XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 5,120.00p -1.16%
Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 273.80p -1.08%
Scottish American Inv Company (SAIN) 483.00p -1.02%
Elementis (ELM) 160.20p -0.93%