London open: Stocks nudge up; Hochschild recovers some ground
London stocks nudged a little higher in early trade on Thursday, but trading was expected to be fairly quiet due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the US.
At 0925 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 7,296.67.
Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: "European markets have opened stronger amid lighter volumes with US markets closed today for Thanksgiving.
"The FTSE 100 is drifting higher, inching closer to resistance at 7,300 with a break above potentially paving the way for further gains. Oil prices are steady for the second day in a row, holding onto Tuesday’s sharp gain with brent crude firmly above support at $80 a barrel."
In equity markets, Hochschild Mining rallied after the Peruvian government U-turned on a decision to close the company’s mines if legal requirements were met. Investors dumped the stock on Monday after Lima said four mines in Peru’s southern Ayacucho region, which included Hochschild’s flagship Inmaculada operation, would be closed as soon as possible.
However, it quickly switched tack on Wednesday after talks with the National Society of Mining, Petroleum and Energy.
Vivo Energy shot higher after agreeing to be taken over by Vitol Investment in a deal worth around $2.3bn.
Outsourcer Capita was lifted by an upgrade to ‘outperform’ at RBC Capital Markets.
Pub chain Mitchells & Butlers was in the black as it said it returned to profit after Covid-19 restrictions were lifted but also warned that rising energy costs and wages would affect its results in the current year.
Drinks maker Britvic fizzed higher after an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Societe Generale, while InterContinental Hotels and Whitbread were up after upgrades at Jefferies.
On the downside, Renishaw and Spectris were both knocked lower by rating downgrades at Morgan Stanley.
Hill & Smith lost ground even as it said it expects annual profit to meet market expectations after "robust" trading in the previous four months.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,296.67 0.14%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,252.52 0.37%
techMARK (TASX) 4,458.53 -0.20%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,496.50p 2.19%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 6,272.00p 1.82%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,495.00p 1.56%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,973.00p 1.35%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,468.00p 1.27%
BHP Group (BHP) 2,039.00p 1.14%
Fresnillo (FRES) 911.40p 1.11%
Croda International (CRDA) 9,880.00p 1.11%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 8,562.00p 1.07%
Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,931.00p 1.05%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Vodafone Group (VOD) 113.00p -4.06%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,579.00p -2.35%
British Land Company (BLND) 525.60p -1.43%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,112.00p -1.08%
BAE Systems (BA.) 558.20p -0.99%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,644.60p -0.95%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,642.40p -0.92%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 158.70p -0.78%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 151.66p -0.73%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,761.50p -0.70%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 151.30p 24.02%
Vivo Energy (VVO) 133.60p 19.93%
Capita (CPI) 47.88p 7.60%
Genus (GNS) 5,005.00p 5.90%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 552.00p 4.74%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 21.02p 3.65%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 244.40p 3.56%
Playtech (PTEC) 767.00p 2.75%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 413.10p 2.61%
Britvic (BVIC) 923.00p 2.56%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Renishaw (RSW) 4,750.00p -4.92%
Spectris (SXS) 3,520.00p -4.11%
Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 103.00p -3.56%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 52.06p -3.23%
Hill & Smith Holdings (HILS) 1,820.00p -2.47%
Carnival (CCL) 1,359.00p -1.95%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 240.00p -1.84%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 418.20p -1.65%
Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 215.00p -1.60%
SSP Group (SSPG) 244.90p -1.49%