London open: Stocks flat despite strong showing from miners; BoE report eyed
London stocks were steady in early trade despite a solid showing in the mining sector, as investors eyed the Bank of England's financial stability report and a speech by governor Mark Carney.
At 0840 BST, the FTSE 100 was flat at 7,444.87, while the pound was unchanged against the dollar and the euro at 1.2727 and 1.1374, respectively.
The financial stability report is at 1030 BST, while Carney's speech is at 1100 BST.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "Tuesday morning’s main focus is on the Bank of England’s Financial Stability Report. Not only is it the first time Mark Carney has spoken in public since Andy Haldane issued a very hawkish rebuttal to the central bank chief’s own dovish stance, but a chance for the BoE to lay out its current position on consumer borrowing, which has seen a rapid increase in recent months."
Investors will also be keeping an eye on the political front after Prime Minister Theresa May agreed a confidence and supply deal on Monday with Northern Ireland's controversial Democratic Unionist Party that will allow her to cling to power.
Meanwhile, the latest poll by YouGov released earlier on Tuesday revealed that consumer confidence in the UK fell sharply in the 12 days after the general election, hitting its lowest level since the aftermath of the Brexit vote.
Heavily-weighted mining stocks put in the strongest performance, with Anglo American, Rio Tinto, BHP, Antofagasta and Glencore all in the black as China Premier Li Keqiang said the country - a big consumer of metals - is capable of achieving its full-year growth target. Also providing a boost was news that profit growth in China's industrial sector picked up in May.
Elsewhere, retailers were in focus as department store chain Debenhams and Carpetright updated the market.
Debenhams shares slumped after it warned that full-year profits could be towards the lower end of the current range if current market volatility continues, as it reported a drop in third-quarter like-for-like sales.
Carpetright fared a lot better, however, surging 8% as its full-year underlying pre-tax profit fell on the back of a weaker pound and the revamp of its stores, but still came in ahead of expectations.
LondonMetric Property ticked down after saying it had sold its last remaining office asset in Marlow to Kildare Partners for £68.5m.
Petrofac gushed higher after hailing a positive start to the year, while builders' merchant Travis Perkins nudged up after announcing the appointment of Stuart Chambers as its chairman with effect from November.
Pub operator Punch Taverns was in focus after the Competition and Markets Authority said there were reasonable grounds for believing that proposals made by Heineken might remedy its concerns over the brewer's acquisition of Punch.
Vehicle hire firm Northgate shares tanked after it reported a drop in full-year pre-tax profits to £72.2m from £77.6m.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,444.87 -0.03%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,614.15 -0.36%
techMARK (TASX) 3,612.95 -0.33%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Anglo American (AAL) 1,005.00p 3.13%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,130.00p 2.39%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,165.00p 2.01%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 765.50p 1.93%
Glencore (GLEN) 281.90p 1.70%
Tesco (TSCO) 168.85p 1.23%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,075.00p 1.07%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,377.00p 1.02%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,368.00p 0.88%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,541.50p 0.68%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Compass Group (CPG) 1,667.00p -4.39%
GKN (GKN) 338.90p -2.08%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 337.00p -1.84%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,129.00p -1.83%
Carnival (CCL) 5,150.00p -1.44%
Royal Mail (RMG) 428.00p -0.99%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 904.00p -0.93%
DCC (DCC) 7,080.00p -0.91%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 751.00p -0.79%
Worldpay Group (WPG) 314.00p -0.76%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Sanne Group (SNN) 636.50p 2.58%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 480.30p 2.02%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 191.70p 1.86%
Hunting (HTG) 474.20p 1.20%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 6,470.00p 1.09%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 161.70p 1.06%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 595.50p 1.02%
Polymetal International (POLY) 906.00p 1.00%
Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate (KWE) 1,106.00p 0.82%
Redefine International (RDI) 40.23p 0.80%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Northgate (NTG) 476.90p -10.36%
Playtech (PTEC) 946.00p -4.78%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,539.00p -3.33%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 468.50p -2.98%
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 450.90p -1.98%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,490.00p -1.97%
AA (AA.) 220.50p -1.74%
Nex Group (NXG) 645.50p -1.68%
William Hill (WMH) 258.40p -1.52%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 491.90p -1.52%