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(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened mixed on Thursday, as investors react to news of the UK's July election.
The FTSE 100 index opened down 19.61 points, 0.2%, at 8,350.72. The FTSE 250 was up 12.17 points, 0.1%, at 20,722.24, and the AIM All-Share was down 0.54 of a point, 0.1%, at 803.33.
The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 833.24, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.2% at 18,104.42, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.3% at 16,653.68.
In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.4%.
Rishi Sunak has called a general election for July 4, saying it was "the moment for Britain to choose its future".
The prime minister has gambled that improved inflation figures and a recovering economy will help him overturn Labour's 20-point opinion poll lead.
The UK consumer price index rose by 2.3% in April from a year before, slowing from a 3.2% annual increase in March, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Though inflation was hotter than market consensus of 2.1%, which would have been only a hair above the Bank of England's 2% target, the latest figure still is the coolest rate of inflation since July 2021.
A July election is earlier than many in Westminster had expected, with a contest in October or November widely thought to have been more likely.
Stocks in New York on Wednesday took a hit, after some hawkish US central bank minutes.
Federal Reserve officials grew more concerned about the lack of progress in tackling inflation, minutes from the latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting showed, with some members even suggesting rates should rise.
"Various participants mentioned a willingness to tighten policy further should risks to inflation materialize in a way that such an action became appropriate," the minutes showed.
Officials noted a "lack of further progress" towards the central bank's 2% inflation target with recent monthly data showing "significant increases in components of both goods and services price inflation."
The pound was quoted at USD1.2726 early on Thursday in London, lower compared to USD1.2732 at the equities close on Wednesday. The euro stood at USD1.0827, down against USD1.0840. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY156.72, higher compared to JPY156.55.
In the FTSE 100, National Grid fell 8.6% to the bottom of the index.
National Grid reported that pretax profit in the year ended March 31 fell to GBP3.05 billion from GBP3.59 billion a year earlier. Revenue fell to GBP19.85 billion versus GBP21.66 billion a year ago.
National Grid upped its dividend to 58.52p from 55.44p.
It also announced a fully underwritten equity raise of GBP7 billion via rights issue to fund a GBP60 billion investment in energy network infrastructure in the five years to the end of March 2029, nearly double the investment of the past five years.
Marks & Spencer rose 6.8%, after closing up 5.2% on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the London-based retailer said statutory revenue in the year to March 30 rose 9.3% to GBP13.04 billion from GBP11.93 billion a year prior. Pretax profit jumped 41% to GBP672.5 million from GBP475.7 million.
M&S, which recently restored its dividend after a four-year hiatus, declared a 2.0 pence per share final payout. It means its total dividend for the year amounts to 3p, having not paid one in financial 2023.
In the FTSE 250, Hargreaves Lansdown jumped 17%.
Hargreaves Lansdown on Wednesday rejected a takeover approach from a group of private equity firms including CVC Advisers.
In a brief statement, the consortium which includes CVC Advisers Ltd, Nordic Capital XI Delta, and Platinum Ivy B 2018 RSC Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority confirmed making a bid for the investment platform and financial services company.
The consortium said it was considering a possible offer for Hargreaves Lansdown after having made a 985 pence per share proposal on April 26. Hargreaves Lansdown rejected the proposal, the consortium said.
Amongst London's small-caps, Bloomsbury Publishing fell 8.6%.
The London-base publishing house said that after seven years Richard Lambert plans to step down as chair. He will retire on July 16 at the company's annual general meeting.
John Bason, current independent non-executive director, will succeed Lambert as chair. Bason is also a non-executive director at SSE.
In Asia on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 1.3%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 1.3%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 1.8%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.5%.
Brent oil was quoted at USD81.76 a barrel early in London on Thursday, down from USD82.21 late Wednesday. Gold was quoted at USD2,357.90 an ounce, down against USD2,389.20.
Still to come on Thursday's economic calendar.
By Sophie Rose, Alliance News senior reporter
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