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(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened mixed on Friday as doubts emerged over Russia-Ukraine peace talks as Moscow's relentless assault on its neighbour continues.
The FTSE 100 index was down 14.91 points, or 0.2%, at 7,370.43 early Friday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 8.46 points at 20,984.15. The AIM All-Share index was up 0.44 of a point at 1,025.77.
The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.2% at 732.41. The Cboe 250 was flat at 18,534.65, and the Cboe Small Companies up 0.2% at 14,701.28.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 stock index in Paris was down 0.4% while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was 0.3% lower.
Rescue workers searched desperately for any survivors buried beneath the rubble of Mariupol's bombed-out theatre Friday, as Russia's forces pounded residential areas across Ukraine, stoking allegations of war crimes.
Twenty-four hours after Mariupol's once-gleaming whitewashed theatre was hollowed out by a Russian strike, the number of dead, injured or trapped is still unclear.
In a call later Friday, US President Joe Biden is set to warn his counterpart Xi Jinping that Beijing will face "costs" for "any actions it takes to support Russia's aggression", according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
In the wake of the theatre attack, Blinken also said it was "difficult to conclude" that Vladimir Putin's regime had not engaged in war crimes by targeting civilians.
In the FTSE 100, Polymetal International was the best performers, up 5.8%. The Russian gold miner said it has appointed four new independent non-executive directors to its board after six non-execs resigned last week.
In the FTSE 250, Softcat was up 3.0% after Berenberg upgraded the IT infrastructure services provider to 'buy' from 'hold'.
Conversely, Investec was down 2.7%. The Anglo-South African financial services company lifted its full-year earnings guidance as top-line growth continued to gain traction and impairment charges dropped significantly.
Investec expects its adjusted earnings per share to range between 51 pence and 55p for the financial year ending March 31, up sharply from 28.9p in the prior year. The group in November had forecast an increase to between 48p and 53p.
Thanks to net inflows of GBP2.0 billion and positive market conditions, Investec said its Wealth & Investment business boosted funds under management by 6.6% year-on-year to GBP61.9 billion for the 11 months ended February 28.
It warned though that the current market volatility may hit funds under management at March 31.
JD Wetherspoon was down 0.3% after the pub chain reported a narrowed interim loss, but said sales are yet to return to pre-pandemic levels.
Revenue for the half-year that ended January 23 came in at GBP807.4 million, nearly double the GBP431.1 million posted a year before. However, sales remain below the GBP933.0 million achieved two years ago, a pre-pandemic period.
Wetherspoon's pretax loss narrowed to GBP21.3 million from GBP46.2 million a year ago, but the bottom line remains far off the profit of GBP57.9 million registered two years ago.
Elsewhere in London, Ted Baker was up 16% after Sycamore Partners Management confirmed a Sky News press report that it was in early stages of considering making a possible cash offer for the fashion retailer.
Sycamore Partners said it was considering a possible cash offer for Ted Baker but noted there was no certainty any offer would be made.
In response, Ted Baker confirmed that it had not received any approach from Sycamore. Further, the retailer said it was confident in its independent prospects and would evaluate any offer against the shareholder value creation which it believes can be delivered as a standalone company.
In Asia on Friday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.7%. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended up 1.1%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed down 0.4%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.6%.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3150 early Friday, marginally soft on USD1.3155 at the London equities close Thursday. The euro was priced at USD1.1075, lower against USD1.1113. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar was trading at JPY118.90 in London, up from JPY118.44.
Brent oil was quoted at USD108.11 barrel Friday morning, up from USD106.62 late Thursday. Gold stood at USD1,932.96 an ounce, lower against USD1,942.97.
Friday's economic calendar as EU trade data at 1000 GMT. On the UK political front, the Conservative Party spring conference begins, with Chancellor Rishi Sunak delivering a speech.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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