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(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London struggled for direction at the open on Friday amid a lack of company news, with a strong pound after upbeat UK retail sales figures hindering the FTSE 100.
In London, the blue-chip index was down 6.51 points, or 0.1%, at 6,006.83. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 46.02 points or 0.2% at 17,542.45, and the AIM All-Share index was flat at 956.79.
The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.4% at 597.69. The Cboe 250 was up 0.4% at 14,953.68, and the Cboe Small Companies was flat at 9,617.53.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 index in Paris was down 0.3%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was up 0.1%.
In the FTSE 100, GVC Holdings was the best performer, up 2.7% at 768.20 pence after Jefferies raised its price target on the gambling firm to 1,250 pence from 1,210p and reiterated its Buy rating.
At the other end of the large-cap index, DCC was the worst performer, down 1.7% after Barclays downgraded the Irish support services firm to Equal Weight from Overweight.
In the FTSE 250, HgCapital Trust was up 6.8% after it said manager Hg led a further majority investment in Oslo-based software and technology provider Visma, valued at USD12.2 billion, in the world's largest-ever software buyout.
HgCapital Trust will be investing in Visma alongside other institutional clients of Hg through the Hg Saturn 2 fund, while Hg's Genesis 7 Fund will reduce its holding in Visma.
HgCapital Trust will be investing GBP17.1 million in Visma, bringing its existing investments in the company to GBP268.8 million. This would represent a 35% uplift of GBP69.1 million or 17 pence per share over the carrying value of GBP199.7 million in the net value asset of HgCapital Trust.
At the other end of the midcaps, Petrofac was down 2.5% after Bernstein downgraded the oilfield services company to Market Perform from Outperform.
The Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.2% on Friday. In China, the Shanghai Composite closed up 0.5%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is up 1.3%.
Business activity in Japan remained at contraction levels in August, as new orders and work backlog declined and prices fell, flash PMI estimates from IHS Markit showed.
The Jibun Bank flash composite purchasing managers' index for Japan was 44.9, in line with the final reading for July. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector and one below contraction.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3242 Friday morning, up sharply from USD1.3160 at the London equities close Thursday.
UK retail sales rose in July as lockdown restrictions were relaxed, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. UK retail sales were up 1.4% in July on an annual basis, having decreased 1.6% in June. Market consensus, according to FXStreet, was for zero annual growth.
"These numbers are encouraging, despite the challenges facing UK economy, of which there are many, particularly around the sustainability of the furlough. Online retail sales have been a particularly strong area, not altogether surprising given the challenges facing high street retailers in reopening, along with the higher costs, and a reticence on the part of UK shoppers to venture out in the same way as before. The warm weather in July is also likely to have played a part in these July numbers," CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said.
The euro was priced at USD1.1877, up from USD1.1849. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY105.60 in London, lower from JPY105.86.
In commodities, Brent oil was quoted at USD44.74 on Friday morning, firm from USD44.64 at Thursday's equities close in London. Gold was trading at USD1,947.10 an ounce, flat from USD1,946.90.
In the economic events calendar on Friday, there is a slew of flash Markit PMI readings on tap, with the eurozone at 0900 BST, the UK at 0930 BST, and the US at 1445 BST.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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