London open: Stocks nudge higher as investors sift through corporate news
London stocks inched higher in early trade as investors sifted through a slew of corporate releases, with Brexit in focus after the House of Commons gave Prime Minister Theresa May the green light to begin the formal process.
At 0830 GMT, the FTSE 100 index was up 0.1% to 7,194.02. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate was up 0.9% to $52.79 a barrel and Brent crude was 0.8% firmer at $52.76.
Spreadex’s Connor Campbell said: “Once again the FTSE struggled to break through 7200 with any substance, the index hampered by a positive start from the pound. Sterling likely wasn’t overjoyed at the news that the Article 50 bill cleared the Commons last night; however, anything that moves things into slightly less uncertain territory Brexit-wise, even if that might be pound-negative, has recently been taken well by sterling, allowing it to jump 0.2% against both the dollar and the euro as the day got underway.”
In corporate news, Aviva edged higher after announcing the sale of its 50% stake in life insurance joint venture Antarius to Sogecap, a subsidiary of French bank Société Générale, for £425m (€500m).
Fund manager Ashmore surged after it said pre-tax profit in the six months to the end of December rose 94% to £121.5m, while net revenue increased 24% to £144.1m. Net management fees pushed up to £114.9m from £98.7m, benefiting from a stronger US dollar, while performance fees rose to £21.6m from £8.6m the year before.
Tate & Lyle gained ground after saying it now expects full-year trading to be modestly ahead of its previous expectations following a solid performance in the third quarter.
Water utility Pennon rose as it said it expects to deliver a full year trading performance in line with its previous guidance.
RPC Group made gains as it announced the acquisition of US plastics manufacturer Letica Group for up to £511m.
On the downside, medical devices group Smith & Nephew retreated as it reported full year sales in line with forecasts and earnings that beat consensus despite declining sales in the fourth quarter.
BHP Billiton ticked lower after saying its board has approved expenditure of $2.2bn for its share of the development of the Mad Dog Phase 2 project in the Gulf of Mexico.
Thomas Cook was under the cosh as it reported a narrowing of losses for the first quarter but sounded a cautious note on the outlook.
Dairy Crest was in the red after saying it expects year-end net debt to be "somewhat" higher than last year on the back of rising UK prices for milk and cheese.
There are no major UK data releases due, but in the US, initial jobless claims are at 1330 GMT and wholesale inventories at 1500 GMT.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,194.02 0.07%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,623.79 0.10%
techMARK (TASX) 3,314.15 -0.14%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Aviva (AV.) 499.50p 1.11%
Barclays (BARC) 227.10p 0.96%
Prudential (PRU) 1,582.00p 0.93%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 598.50p 0.84%
DCC (DCC) 6,820.00p 0.81%
National Grid (NG.) 964.90p 0.75%
Centrica (CNA) 231.70p 0.74%
BP (BP.) 459.30p 0.73%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,374.00p 0.73%
Schroders (SDR) 3,013.00p 0.70%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,161.00p -3.33%
Sage Group (SGE) 628.00p -1.80%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,980.00p -1.66%
easyJet (EZJ) 921.00p -1.34%
WPP (WPP) 1,836.00p -1.13%
Old Mutual (OML) 205.20p -0.63%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 266.00p -0.52%
Pearson (PSON) 654.00p -0.46%
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 8,615.00p -0.40%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,487.00p -0.40%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 337.40p 5.77%
Pennon Group (PNN) 841.50p 3.06%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 257.60p 1.78%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 284.20p 1.75%
RPC Group (RPC) 1,075.00p 1.51%
Ibstock (IBST) 195.90p 1.50%
Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate (KWE) 972.50p 1.35%
Bankers Inv Trust (BNKR) 725.00p 1.19%
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 729.00p 1.18%
Sophos Group (SOPH) 283.20p 1.18%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 86.90p -5.59%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 170.40p -2.18%
Countryside Properties (CSP) 225.00p -2.09%
Allied Minds (ALM) 385.00p -2.06%
Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust (ASL) 1,150.00p -2.04%
P2P Global Investments (P2P) 806.00p -2.01%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 258.70p -1.97%
Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 606.00p -1.70%
Henderson Group (HGG) 213.30p -1.66%
UDG Healthcare Public Limited Company (UDG) 664.50p -1.48%