London open: Stocks little changed ahead of key speeches
London stocks were little changed in early trade on Thursday as investors eyed key speeches from central bank officials.
At 0855 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 7,622.63.
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said market participants were looking ahead "to comments from the central bank holy trinity of Fed chair Jay Powell, ECB President Christine Lagarde and Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey, who are all due to speak in Washington DC".
"Lagarde’s comments will be closely scrutinised after yesterday’s comments from Latvian Governing Council member Martin Kazaks said that a rate rise in July was possible, and that tightening measures needn’t have to wait for evidence of wages growth. Those comments were in contrast to the tone of Lagarde’s ECB press conference earlier this month, so it will be notable if she doesn’t push back on them."
In equity markets, Gambling company Rank Group was under the cosh after it cut its full-year guidance, pointing to a softer performance in March and inflationary pressures. For the year to 30 June, the group now expects EBIT of between £47m and £55m, down from previous guidance of £55m to £65m.
Anglo American slumped after it said first-quarter production fell 10% year on year, impacted by peak Covid-related absenteeism, high rainfall affecting operations in South Africa and Brazil, and safety and other operational challenges at metallurgical coal and iron ore operations.
Legal & General, Glencore, BAE Systems, Jupiter Fund Management and Provident Financial were all weaker as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.
On the upside, BA owner IAG, and budget airlines Wizz Air and easyJet all flew higher following well-received first-quarter results from United Airlines across the pond.
Pest control group Rentokil Initial rallied after it said that 2022 had started well, with strong momentum from the prior year continuing into Q1.
Clays bricks and concrete products manufacturer Ibstock also rose after saying its FY22 performance was set to be "modestly ahead" of its previous expectations following a strong start to the year , driven by stronger clay brick sales volumes and a resilient margin performance.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,622.63 -0.09%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,115.54 0.15%
techMARK (TASX) 4,406.63 -0.05%
FTSE 100 - Risers
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 150.84p 4.74%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 526.20p 2.21%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 95.28p 1.99%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,268.00p 1.89%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 4,857.00p 1.70%
Diageo (DGE) 3,938.00p 1.67%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 3,267.50p 1.62%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,646.50p 1.60%
ITV (ITV) 73.60p 1.43%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,652.00p 1.41%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,493.50p -8.71%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,784.50p -6.22%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 263.30p -5.22%
Glencore (GLEN) 498.35p -3.96%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,673.00p -3.03%
BAE Systems (BA.) 745.60p -2.48%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,065.00p -1.57%
Experian (EXPN) 2,776.00p -1.46%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,661.00p -1.04%
Rightmove (RMV) 630.40p -0.88%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Ibstock (IBST) 182.20p 9.50%
Polymetal International (POLY) 245.00p 4.84%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 570.00p 4.59%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 3,139.00p 4.04%
easyJet (EZJ) 584.60p 3.62%
SSP Group (SSPG) 235.90p 3.19%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 245.50p 3.15%
Darktrace (DARK) 423.60p 3.02%
Greggs (GRG) 2,360.00p 2.88%
Petershill Partners (PHLL) 287.00p 2.68%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Rank Group (RNK) 118.80p -7.48%
Provident Financial (PFG) 256.80p -4.11%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 201.60p -3.72%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 391.80p -2.76%
Rathbone Group (RAT) 2,070.00p -2.59%
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 491.40p -2.50%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 238.50p -2.25%
IWG (IWG) 256.30p -2.14%
JTC (JTC) 747.00p -2.10%
Renishaw (RSW) 4,060.00p -1.98%