(Alliance News) - Stocks in London opened lower on Tuesday amid cautious trade as investors continue to track geopolitical developments.
US President Joe Biden called Monday for a "war crimes trial" over alleged atrocities in Bucha and vowed tougher sanctions against Moscow, as Ukraine's leader urged the world to acknowledge a "genocide" by Russian troops near Kyiv.
Western leaders have united in outrage after dozens of bodies were found on the streets and in mass graves when Russian troops retreated from the devastated town near the capital, laying bare the horrors of a 40-day war that has killed thousands.
Bombardments continued Monday, including in southern Mykolaiv, where officials said Russian strikes killed 10 civilians and wounded 46, as Kyiv warned that Moscow was shifting its military focus and preparing a "full-scale" attack in the country's east.
With momentum building for a stiffer EU response beyond already unprecedented sanctions over Russia's invasion, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc was ready to send investigators to gather evidence of possible war crimes in Bucha.
The FTSE 100 index was down 16.85 points, or 0.2%, at 7,542.07 early Tuesday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was down 118.06 points, or 0.6%, to 21,211.83. The AIM All-Share index was flat at 1,055.48.
The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.3% at 750.60. The Cboe 250 was down 0.5% at 18,700.24, and the Cboe Small Companies was flat at 15,534.55.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 0.1%.
In the FTSE 250, Homeserve was up 1.0% after the home repairs and improvements firm said it made good progress in financial 2022, in line with expectations.
Homeserve said its Membership business continued to show resilience and value to homeowners in times of economic uncertainty, with customer satisfaction remaining high and global policy retention at 84% compared to 83% the year before.
In addition, Homeserve said its Home Experts division was profitable for the first time on a full year basis, predominantly thanks to progress at its Checkatrade business. Checkatrade ended the financial year with 47,000 paying trades, up from 44,000 the year before, and average revenue per trade is expected to exceed the milestone 1 target of GBP1,200, compared to GBP939 last year.
Moonpig Group was up 0.9% after the online greeting card retailer lifted its revenue guidance for financial 2022 on a strong trading performance and expressed confidence in a permanent uplift in "customer cohort frequency."
Moonpig lifted its annual revenue expectations to GBP300 million, with the upgrade reflecting "the temporary impact of Covid-19 on customer behaviour in late December and January."
In financial 2021, Moonpig generated revenue of GBP368.2 million. It had previously guided for financial 2022 revenue of between GBP250 million and GBP260 million.
The upgraded guidance, therefore, reflects a 23% decline compared to financial 2021 levels but between a 15% to 20% increase compared to the previous guidance.
The company anticipates that underlying revenue is going to remain unchanged at approximately GBP265 million in financial 2022.
Moonpig stated that trading in February and March has provided further evidence that supports the expectations of a "permanent uplift in customer cohort frequency" compared to before Covid-19.
Accordingly, Moonpig said it remains confident in existing expectations for financial 2023 and reiterated a medium-term target for adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation margin of roughly 24% to 25%.
At the other end of the midcaps, Darktrace was the worst performer, down 6.5%, after JPMorgan started coverage on the cybersecurity provider at 'underweight'.
Moneysupermarket.com Group was down 5.0% after Barclays downgraded the price comparison website to 'equal weight' from 'overweight'.
Elsewhere, Go-Ahead Group was up 2.6% after the transport operator said it will reinstate its pre-Covid dividend policy as it set out medium-term plans to boost revenue and profit.
The public transport operator will return to paying a dividend equivalent to between 50% and 75% of underlying earnings per share. As such, it intends to recommend a dividend of not less than 50 pence in respect of the financial year ending July 2022.
It revealed payout plans alongside a new strategy, "The Next Billion Journeys".
Go-Ahead is targeting annual group revenue of around GBP4 billion in the medium-term, which it said would be up by around 30%, and operating profit of at least GBP150 million. For the 2021 financial year, Go-Ahead posted adjusted operating profit of GBP115.5 million.
Oil prices extended gains Tuesday on the prospect of further sanctions on Russia for alleged "atrocities" in Ukraine. Brent was quoted at USD108.16 a barrel, up from USD107.45 late Monday.
Gold stood at USD1,928.33 an ounce, soft from USD1,930.80 late Monday.
The dollar was mixed early Tuesday.
Against the dollar, the pound rose slightly to USD1.3127 early Tuesday in London from USD1.3121 late Monday. The euro was priced at USD1.0986, down from USD1.0996. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY122.95, up from JPY122.70.
Financial markets in mainland China and Hong Kong were closed on Tuesday to mark Tomb Sweeping Day. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo and the S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney both finished 0.2% higher.
Japan's services economy contracted at a slower pace in March, figures on Tuesday showed, while the wider private sector returned to growth for the first time in three months.
The latest au Jibun Bank services purchasing managers' index rose to 49.4 points in March, from 44.2 in February. March's figure moved closer to the 50.0 no change mark, suggesting services activity has declined at a slower pace.
The composite PMI, a weighted average of the services and earlier manufacturing reading, rose to 50.3 points in March, from 45.8 in February.
Still to come in the international economics events calendar on Tuesday are a slew of services PMI data, including the eurozone at 0900 BST and the UK at 0930 BST before the US print in the afternoon.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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