London open: FTSE nudges up as WPP, Reckitt gain
London stocks nudged up in early trade on Wednesday, helped along by well-received results from the likes of WPP and Reckitt, but gains were muted as caution crept in ahead of next week’s Budget and amid uncertainty over the US election.
At 0825 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 8,316.45.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Caution is reigning on financial markets amid growing expectations that borrowing costs might come down slower in the US, the world’s largest economy, while political uncertainty and the threat of conflict spreading in the Middle East is also keeping investors a little more wary.
"The FTSE 100 has opened flat as speculation continues to swirl about the tax changes coming in the UK Budget. The result of the US Presidential election still looks to be on a knife-edge which will be playing on minds."
In equity markets, advertising giant WPP rallied after saying it returned to growth in the third quarter, as it reiterated its outlook for the year. Third-quarter like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs rose 0.5%, with reported revenue up 1.4% and LFL revenue up 4.1%.
Reckitt Benckiser was also in the black as the consumer goods giant’s third-quarter like-for-like net sales growth beat estimates.
Lloyds gained as it reported a slight decline in statutory profits over the third quarter but still managed to beat consensus forecasts, as the banking group reiterated guidance for the full year. Statutory profit before tax totalled £1.82bn in the three months to 30 September, down 2% on last year but well ahead of the £1.6bn expected by analysts.
Barratt Redrow advanced as it highlighted "more stable" market conditions, said integration of the two businesses had begun "at pace" and that it expects to deliver cost synergies of at least £90m.
Hochschild shone as the precious metals miner maintained its full-year production guidance after reporting its strongest third quarter in nearly five years.
Ibstock was boosted by an upgrade to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ at Jefferies.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,316.45 0.12%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,960.74 0.05%
techMARK (TASX) 4,755.25 -0.15%
FTSE 100 - Risers
WPP (WPP) 795.20p 2.79%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 4,861.00p 2.06%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 63.18p 1.90%
Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 480.80p 1.56%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,318.00p 0.96%
Tesco (TSCO) 359.00p 0.81%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 135.15p 0.78%
GSK (GSK) 1,463.00p 0.65%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,611.00p 0.62%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 685.50p 0.59%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Melrose Industries (MRO) 444.20p -0.96%
Glencore (GLEN) 404.40p -0.86%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,120.00p -0.84%
Diploma (DPLM) 4,272.00p -0.74%
Halma (HLMA) 2,457.00p -0.65%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,818.00p -0.63%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,970.50p -0.61%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,366.00p -0.57%
Spirax Group (SPX) 6,720.00p -0.52%
IMI (IMI) 1,775.00p -0.50%
FTSE 250 - Risers
IP Group (IPO) 49.65p 7.35%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 244.50p 4.94%
Elementis (ELM) 145.20p 3.71%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 325.00p 3.34%
Mitie Group (MTO) 122.60p 2.51%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 106.60p 2.40%
Auction Technology Group (ATG) 464.00p 2.20%
Ibstock (IBST) 199.40p 2.05%
The European Smaller Companies Trust (ESCT) 176.80p 1.49%
Schroder Asia Pacific Fund (SDP) 545.00p 1.30%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
NCC Group (NCC) 155.00p -3.85%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 310.00p -3.43%
Bodycote (BOY) 543.00p -2.69%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 456.20p -2.56%
Man Group (EMG) 205.80p -1.72%
Helios Towers (HTWS) 108.00p -1.64%
Keller Group (KLR) 1,624.00p -1.46%
Discoverie Group (DSCV) 649.00p -1.37%
Zigup (ZIG) 356.50p -1.25%
Hill and Smith (HILS) 2,015.00p -1.23%