London open: Stocks recover after Wednesday's losses

At 0850 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.5% at 6,981.94.

Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said: "Markets in Europe have opened broadly higher this morning as they recover some of the losses from the swathe of selling on Wednesday, whilst the Federal Reserve underscored it’s in no rush to tighten monetary policy, minutes from its April meeting showed.

"Focus remains on the broader pace of inflationary pressures and recovery in the US with the weekly unemployment claims data (f/c +453k) and the Philly Fed manufacturing index. Iron ore and other industrial commodities linked to steel making feel as China said it would step in to curb rampant prices, though copper is rallying this morning. Focus also remains on the volatile crypto space after a dramatic day."

In equity markets, Kingfisher was a high riser as it said first-half sales and profit would beat expectations after the owner of B&Q achieved strong sales growth in the first quarter.

Media group Future surged for the second day in a row after well-received results on Wednesday.

Qinetiq rallied after reporting a rise in full-year profit and revenue as it recorded its largest annual order intake in a decade.

On the downside, BT was hit by a downgrade to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’ at Berenberg.

Tesco and GlaxoSmithKline were both weaker as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.

Rail and bus ticketing company Trainline slumped more than 20%. Traders pointed to news the government will create a new state-owned body, Great British Railways, which will set timetables and prices, sell tickets in England and manage rail infrastructure.

Watches of Switzerland was on the back foot even as the luxury watch retailer said online sales helped drive soaring fourth-quarter revenues despite the extended Covid-19 lockdown which saw its outlets closed for months.

EasyJet flew lower after the budget airline posted a widening of its first-half losses, in line with expectations, as it continues to take a hit from Covid-related restrictions.

Royal Mail also lost ground as it said full-year pre-tax profits rose to £726m from £180m but reported a slowdown in April volumes.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,981.94 0.46%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,327.10 0.42%
techMARK (TASX) 4,267.07 0.66%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Experian (EXPN) 2,677.00p 3.76%
Renishaw (RSW) 5,440.00p 2.74%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 12,255.00p 2.64%
Croda International (CRDA) 6,768.00p 2.24%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 581.00p 2.14%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 161.00p 2.09%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 6,270.00p 1.95%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,306.00p 1.90%
Rightmove (RMV) 588.80p 1.73%
Halma (HLMA) 2,518.00p 1.70%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Tesco (TSCO) 227.70p -1.77%
Fresnillo (FRES) 875.40p -1.68%
BT Group (BT.A) 169.40p -1.51%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,355.40p -0.83%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 193.00p -0.79%
BAE Systems (BA.) 516.00p -0.73%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,670.00p -0.65%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 102.82p -0.52%
BHP Group (BHP) 2,127.00p -0.51%
Pearson (PSON) 841.60p -0.45%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Future (FUTR) 2,850.00p 7.55%
Genuit Group (GEN) 592.00p 3.50%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 987.00p 3.35%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,110.00p 3.18%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 4,522.00p 2.77%
Investec (INVP) 289.00p 2.45%
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 204.20p 2.43%
Liontrust Asset Management (LIO) 1,570.00p 2.35%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 333.80p 2.33%
Genus (GNS) 4,874.00p 2.22%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Trainline (TRN) 342.00p -20.09%
Apax Global Alpha Limited (APAX) 192.20p -3.80%
easyJet (EZJ) 956.40p -2.71%
Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 117.80p -2.64%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 750.00p -2.60%
BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust (BRSC) 1,870.00p -2.50%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 179.35p -2.29%
Royal Mail (RMG) 515.00p -1.90%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 118.55p -1.62%
Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 779.60p -1.37%