London open: Stocks edge up as investors eye BoE announcement

At 0840 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 7,056.31.

Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "Following Wednesday’s super-surge the European markets entered Thursday’s trading at a light jog."

Campbell said the muted start was understandable, with investors cautious of any potential tapering talk. "For today brings May’s Bank of England meeting, one that comes complete with a fresh set of economic forecasts for the UK.

"From expectations of 5% growth in 2021 back in February, Andrew Bailey and the rest of the MPC are set to announce that the country will instead see GDP at 7% this year. However, those revised forecasts come with a potential catch. Much like in the US, the increasing strength of the UK economy’s rebound will cause the central bank to mull over tapering its current stimulus support.

"Any hawkish signals could well send the FTSE back below 7,000 - it’s currently at 7,060 - while leaving the pound primed to build beyond $1.39 against the dollar."

In equity markets, Next was a high riser after upgrading its guidance for annual pre-tax profit by £20m to £720m as sales beat expectations in the first quarter.

Housebuilder Barratt Developments gained after saying it expects full year results to be "modestly above" prior expectations following a strong start to the new year and that it was refunding £3.5m in Covid business rate relief.

Melrose Industries also rose after saying it was trading modestly above expectations, while Morgan Advanced Materials was in the black after it lifted its guidance for full-year organic constant currency sales growth.

Aston Martin rallied as it reported a narrowing of its first-quarter losses as revenues surged and the luxury car maker backed its full-year guidance.

Wealth manager Rathbone Brothers was trading up after it reported a rise in first-quarter funds under management and income as it hailed a strong performance from its funds business.

On the downside, Admiral and Croda were both weaker as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.

Trainline slumped as the online ticket platform said annual losses had widened as passenger demand plunged during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,056.31 0.24%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,455.82 0.31%
techMARK (TASX) 4,336.75 0.18%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Next (NXT) 8,324.00p 2.44%
Fresnillo (FRES) 868.80p 1.85%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,355.80p 1.62%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 103.38p 1.59%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 166.00p 1.41%
National Grid (NG.) 922.50p 1.36%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,751.00p 1.29%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 775.00p 1.23%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,424.40p 1.21%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,345.00p 1.08%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Admiral Group (ADM) 3,003.00p -3.44%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,531.00p -2.52%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,955.50p -1.66%
Croda International (CRDA) 6,772.00p -1.40%
BT Group (BT.A) 168.00p -1.32%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 2,665.00p -1.30%
Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,737.00p -1.22%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 6,391.00p -1.10%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 6,060.00p -1.08%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 5,030.00p -1.02%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 321.50p 6.11%
Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 1,764.00p 3.76%
ICG Enterprise Trust (ICGT) 1,088.00p 3.23%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 1,959.50p 3.10%
Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 348.50p 2.50%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 563.50p 2.45%
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 203.10p 2.42%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 281.20p 2.37%
Workspace Group (WKP) 858.00p 2.14%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 460.60p 1.81%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Trainline (TRN) 440.00p -2.35%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 389.00p -1.77%
Greggs (GRG) 2,342.00p -1.51%
John Laing Group (JLG) 313.00p -1.45%
NCC Group (NCC) 263.50p -1.13%
Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 309.50p -1.12%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 1,476.00p -1.07%
GCP Infrastructure Investments Ltd (GCP) 100.00p -0.99%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 1,028.00p -0.96%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 240.00p -0.83%