London open: Stocks tread water but Rolls-Royce rallies on Airbus news
London stocks were little changed in early trade on Thursday, struggling for direction.
At 0900 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 7,021.67.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "The FTSE 100 seems to be on a road to nowhere at the moment. Fears about inflation have subsided for the time being and even some volatility in Asian markets wasn’t enough to wake the index from its slumber.
"There is a relative dearth of economic data which could push markets in any particular direction in the coming days, although a second estimate of first quarter US GDP later on Thursday could renew focus on inflationary pressures, particularly if the already elevated number is revised upwards.
"Metal prices are also creeping higher again. This could put yet more focus on the risks of the global economy overheating but has at least given the UK mining sector a bit of a lift this morning."
In equity markets, Rolls-Royce was the top performer on the FTSE 100 after Airbus said it was ramping up aircraft production as the aviation sector begins to recover. GKN owner Melrose and Meggitt were also trading higher.
Aviva gained as it said new life business premiums were flat year-on-year in the first quarter, with growth in Savings & Retirement and lower volumes of Annuities & Equity Release in a subdued market compared to a strong start in 2020.
Industrial software group Aveva was boosted by an upgrade to ‘overweight’ from ‘neutral’ at Barclays.
Pets at Home rallied as it increased its final dividend by 10% and predicted a big jump in annual profit after reporting strong trading fuelled by people buying pets during the pandemic.
On the downside, Johnson Matthey fell as it reported a 22% decline in full-year pre-tax profit.
Water company United Utilities lost ground as it raised its dividend in line with its policy but reported a 21% drop in annual profit caused mainly by lower water bills.
Tate & Lyle was also in the red even as it posted a 6% rise in adjusted annual profits, driven by double-digit growth in its food and beverage division.
Gold miner Centamin lost its shine after an initiation at ‘sell’ by Liberum.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,021.67 -0.07%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,649.10 0.04%
techMARK (TASX) 4,378.10 0.10%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 105.90p 2.78%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 167.95p 2.53%
Aviva (AV.) 408.10p 2.13%
BHP Group (BHP) 2,123.50p 2.02%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,249.00p 1.85%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 6,022.00p 1.83%
Aveva Group (AVV) 3,464.00p 1.41%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,526.00p 1.40%
Glencore (GLEN) 311.15p 1.19%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,104.50p 1.17%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,450.00p -3.01%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,062.00p -2.79%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 5,510.00p -2.48%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,643.00p -1.85%
Evraz (EVR) 638.40p -1.81%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 985.20p -1.68%
Kingfisher (KGF) 361.80p -1.50%
DCC (CDI) (DCC) 6,110.00p -1.45%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 6,383.00p -1.39%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,298.20p -1.34%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Meggitt (MGGT) 498.80p 2.85%
Hammerson (HMSO) 38.04p 2.81%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 455.00p 2.76%
C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 257.60p 1.97%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 172.05p 1.68%
Premier Foods (PFD) 111.60p 1.64%
Clarkson (CKN) 3,120.00p 1.63%
Trainline (TRN) 277.40p 1.54%
LondonMetric Property (LMP) 231.60p 1.49%
JPMorgan Japanese Inv Trust (JFJ) 628.00p 1.45%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 772.60p -5.13%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 115.10p -4.99%
Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 107.40p -2.54%
Diploma (DPLM) 2,962.00p -2.05%
Elementis (ELM) 155.70p -1.95%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 405.00p -1.94%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 2,840.00p -1.90%
Vivo Energy (VVO) 103.20p -1.71%
Britvic (BVIC) 928.00p -1.54%
XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 4,950.00p -1.39%