London open: Stocks rally on positive US cues
London stocks rose in early trade on Friday, taking their cue from a positive close on Wall Street.
At 0840 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 1% at 7,628.48.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "The late recovery on Wall Street and the accompanying hunt for defensive cash earners has fed straight through to the UK’s premier index, where a strong opening adds to previous gains and leaves the FTSE 100 ahead by 3.1% in the year to date.
"The current conflict between Russia and Ukraine is having real economic impact, as well as being the largest humanitarian crisis of modern times, with the damage to supply chains affecting anything from energy to metals to food. Longer term, there is some debate as to whether the globalisation which has become entrenched over recent decades is now set to unwind, with the potential for countries to aim for self-sufficiency as far as possible.
"In the meantime, attempts to replace Russian oil were ratcheted up further with the potential release of 240 million barrels of emergency stocks as further sanctions were imposed on the military aggressor. Despite a subsequent dip, the oil price remains up by 30% in the year to date, driven by lower supplies and an uncertain level of demand following the most recent lockdowns in China."
In equity markets, Ukraine-based iron ore pellets exporter Ferrexpo surged after saying pellet production in the first quarter of 2.7m tonnes was in line with the same period a year ago and down 11% on the previous quarter.
House broker Liberum said the production figures imply Ferrexpo was operating at 70% capacity during March. It said operations "admirably continue" despite "horrific conditions" in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Peel Hunt said the production update was "surprisingly strong".
Online trading platform CMC Markets rallied as it said full-year net operating income was set to be at the top end of guidance.
Sustainable technology company Johnson Matthey rose after it said annual results were on course to be in line with market expectations, but warned of continued supply chain disruption for its automotive customers and increased cost inflation.
UK student accommodation group Unite was higher after it reported a rise in first-quarter portfolio valuation, but warned of cost inflation and supply chain headwinds to its medium-term development pipeline.
On the downside, paper and packaging group Mondi was under the cosh after a downgrade to ‘equalweight’ at Morgan Stanley.
Anglo-Russian precious metals miner Polymetal was in the red as it said Deloitte has resigned as its auditor because of its links with Russia.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,628.48 1.02%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,163.74 0.60%
techMARK (TASX) 4,401.26 0.48%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Airtel Africa (AAF) 147.40p 3.58%
Anglo American (AAL) 4,082.00p 2.61%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,721.50p 2.56%
BP (BP.) 386.10p 2.31%
Shell (SHEL) 2,131.75p 2.19%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 505.20p 2.18%
Barclays (BARC) 143.58p 2.13%
Abrdn (ABDN) 206.80p 1.87%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 6,201.00p 1.86%
Prudential (PRU) 1,105.00p 1.84%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Mondi (MNDI) 1,400.50p -1.79%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 5,222.00p -1.73%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,557.00p -1.33%
Severn Trent (SVT) 3,154.00p -0.60%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 8,412.00p -0.57%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 245.30p -0.28%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 527.60p -0.23%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 4,264.00p -0.19%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,168.00p -0.17%
Bunzl (BNZL) 3,111.00p -0.13%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 189.10p 12.76%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 255.50p 5.80%
Darktrace (DARK) 446.80p 5.25%
Volution Group (FAN) 427.50p 4.01%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,849.00p 2.93%
Currys (CURY) 95.85p 2.68%
Carnival (CCL) 1,308.50p 2.59%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 59.45p 2.32%
easyJet (EZJ) 531.20p 2.31%
Quilter (QLT) 146.40p 2.23%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Polymetal International (POLY) 272.00p -6.21%
International Public Partnerships Ltd. (INPP) 163.60p -4.10%
BH Macro Ltd. GBP Shares (BHMG) 4,105.00p -2.15%
Abrdn Private Equity Opportunities Trust (APEO) 502.00p -1.95%
Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 165.80p -1.89%
HICL Infrastructure (HICL) 177.00p -1.78%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 144.80p -1.76%
Hill & Smith Holdings (HILS) 1,462.00p -1.62%
NCC Group (NCC) 194.80p -1.22%
Herald Investment Trust (HRI) 1,868.00p -1.16%