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(Alliance News) - Stocks were trading lower in London on Wednesday at midday, as investor attention turns to testimony by the US Federal Reserve chair following hot inflation readings in both the UK and US.
The FTSE 100 index was down 44.37 points, or 0.6%, at 7,080.35 on Wednesday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was down 155.02 points, or 0.7%, at 22,771.93. The AIM All-Share index was down 0.6% at 1,241.12.
The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.6% at 704.92. The Cboe 250 was down 0.8% at 20,434.18, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.2% at 15,289.57.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt were both 0.2% lower.
Industrial production in both the euro area and the EU as a whole fell in May from the month before, figures from Eurostat showed on Wednesday. Seasonally adjusted industrial production fell by 1.0% in the euro area and by 0.9% in the EU in May, when compared with April.
On an annual basis, industrial production increased by 21% in both the euro area and the EU from pandemic-depress levels in 2020.
The euro traded at USD1.1798 at midday Wednesday, lower against USD1.1815 late Tuesday. Against the yen, the dollar was up to JPY110.50 from JPY110.33.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3868 on Wednesday midday, higher than USD1.3838 at the London equities close on Tuesday.
UK house prices increased by 10% in the year to May, pushing them close to a record high, according to official figures.
Across the UK, the average house price in May was GBP255,000, nearly returning to the record seen in March of GBP256,000, the Office for National Statistics said.
In the North West of England, house prices surged by 15% in the year to May to reach just over GBP189,000 on average, picking up from 14% annual growth in April.
A stamp duty holiday, which has been extended and is currently being tapered into the autumn, was originally due to end in March. It is likely that property tax breaks inflated March's average house prices as buyers rushed to ensure their purchases completed ahead of the deadline, the ONS said.
On the LSE, housebuilder Barratt Developments was up 1.4%, the best performer among blue-chips, after reporting strong demand across the country in the financial year that ended June 30. Net private reservations per active outlet per week were 0.78, up from 0.60 in financial 2020 and 0.70 in financial 2019.
Completion volumes also ticked up, with 17,243 total homes completed in the recent financial year versus 12,604 homes in financial 2020 and 17,856 homes in financial 2019.
Barratt said it expects pretax profit, after adjusted items of GBP107 million, to be at the top end of the range of market forecasts.
Looking ahead, the company said it is well positioned for its new financial year, with total forward sales - including joint ventures - as at June 30 of 14,334 homes, up from 14,326 homes the year before and up from 11,419 homes year-on-two-years.
Dunelm was down 3.9% despite reporting total sales in the 13-week period ended June 26 more than doubled compared to the same period last year. On a two-year basis, total sales in the quarter were up by 44%.
Digital sales growth also remained strong throughout the quarter, up 38% on the same period last year, Dunelm said.
Looking ahead, Chief Executive Nick Wilkinson said: "With many exciting developments in the pipeline to make us the first choice for home, and grow our customer base and frequency, there is a lot to look forward to."
easyJet lost 3.4% after Davy cut the budget airline to Hold from Outperform.
Tullow Oil was at the other end of the FTSE 250 index, up 2.4%. The oild producer said it expects revenue for the first half of 2021 to be around GBP700 million, assuming an oil price of USD58 per barrel, on par with the company's 2020 run rate with sales revenue of USD1.40 billion.
Production guidance for 2021 was reduced, however, and is now expected to be between 55,000 and 61,000 barrels of oil per day, down from the previous forecast of 60,000 to 66,000. The change in guidance partly reflects "first half delivery", but also the disposal of assets in Equatorial Guinea and of its Dussafu Marin permit in Gabon.
Working interest production in the first half of 2021 averaged 61,200 bopd, in line with the new expectations.
Coats Group gained 1.5%. The industrial thread maker said that strong operational performance and demand recovery have continued in the first half of 2021, despite the impact of recent lockdowns in India in May and June, which have now subsided.
Sales for the half-year were USD732 million, up from USD536 million a year ago and up from USD705 million in the first half of 2019.
Coats said it now expects adjusted operating profit for the first half to be around USD95 million, almost tripled from USD34 million a year prior but lower than USD102 million in the first half of 2019.
Wall Street is on course for a mostly positive start on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones called flat, the S&P 500 seen up 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite pointed up 0.4%
The economic events calendar on Wednesday has US producer prices at 1330 BST.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is due to testify before Congress in a semi-annual hearing, starting at noon in Washington.
The US earning season continues with Bank of America under the spotlight, with Citigroup and Wells Fargo also due to report ahead of the opening bell.
Brent oil was trading at USD76.00 a barrel on Wednesday midday, rising from USD75.50 late Tuesday. Gold was quoted at USD1,815.61 an ounce, up from USD1,811.70 on Tuesday.
By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com
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