London open: Stocks edge higher; M&S shines
London stocks edged higher in early trade on Tuesday, taking their cue from upbeat US and Asian sessions.
At 0850 The FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 7,123.04 .
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "Investors have for the moment reverted to the glass half-full mentality, with buying interest in big tech propelling the Nasdaq to a record closing high.
"Sentiment was also buoyed by the US Food and Drug Administration granting full approval for the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, prompting hopes that the level of inoculations could be accelerated as a result. The Delta variant has become a drag on economic recovery generally and measures to mitigate its impact will have positive effects."
He added: "The UK markets may be attracting further international investor interest on valuation grounds and prospects for a broad return to economic growth, and in the year to date the FTSE 100 is ahead by 10.2% and the FTSE 250 by 16.3%."
In equity markets, Marks & Spencer was the standout performer on the FTSE 250 after a positive Times 'Tempus' write-up.
Spectris rose after agreeing to sell its NDC Technologies business to Nordson for $180m (£130m).
On the downside, Wood Group declined as it reported a rise in interim profit as trading momentum improved in the second half but said revenue fell 22.9%.
Sainsbury’s was also a weaker, having surged on Monday following a report that US private equity firm Apollo was considering making a £7bn offer for the supermarket chain.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,123.04 0.20%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,843.06 0.43%
techMARK (TASX) 4,820.70 0.18%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,382.00p 2.18%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 13,900.00p 1.46%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,088.00p 1.41%
BHP Group (BHP) 2,237.00p 1.34%
Informa (INF) 532.80p 1.33%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 162.36p 1.18%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,844.00p 1.14%
Glencore (GLEN) 320.70p 1.01%
Halma (HLMA) 3,031.00p 1.00%
Croda International (CRDA) 9,332.00p 1.00%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 332.80p -2.12%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 391.75p -0.89%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,397.00p -0.71%
Kingfisher (KGF) 358.70p -0.64%
Avast (AVST) 604.00p -0.53%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 43.72p -0.52%
M&G (MNG) 210.90p -0.52%
BAE Systems (BA.) 569.20p -0.49%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,495.20p -0.48%
BT Group (BT.A) 167.40p -0.45%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 169.35p 3.33%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 340.50p 2.87%
Coats Group (COA) 72.00p 2.86%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 19.67p 2.77%
FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 1,300.00p 2.69%
Trainline (TRN) 341.40p 2.52%
Carnival (CCL) 1,514.40p 2.48%
Avon Protection (AVON) 1,932.00p 2.22%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 580.00p 2.11%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 43.85p 1.93%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 224.40p -3.94%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 328.00p -1.65%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 242.50p -1.22%
Chrysalis Investments Limited NPV (CHRY) 258.00p -1.15%
NCC Group (NCC) 327.00p -0.91%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 413.00p -0.84%
Civitas Social Housing (CSH) 108.40p -0.73%
JTC (JTC) 742.00p -0.67%
Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 1,992.00p -0.65%
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 231.50p -0.64%