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(Alliance News) - London's flagship stock index saw some respite early Friday after several sessions of decline, perked up by equity-market gains in Asia and some fresh records on Wall Street.
The FTSE 100 shook off a decline by constituent Kingfisher, as well as continued strength in sterling, to climb higher in opening trade.
The index was up 28.84 points, or 0.4%, at 7,284.80 early Friday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 16.46 points, or 0.1%, at 23,591.08. The AIM All-Share index was down 3.07 points, or 0.3%, at 1,233.68.
The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.4% at 721.83. The Cboe 250 was up 0.2% at 21,045.71, and the Cboe Small Companies flat at 15,486.27.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.4%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.2% early Friday.
The FTSE 100 snapped its losing streak despite shares in constituent Kingfisher falling 4.2%. The DIY retailer said sales remain above pre-pandemic levels, despite a lockdown-inspired boost in demand for home improvement products waning.
Total sales in the third quarter ended October 31 were GBP3.25 billion, down 6.3% on a year ago. The like-for-like decline was 2.4% on an annual basis at constant currency, but on two years earlier - so in comparison with pre-virus levels - growth was 15%.
Kingfisher's full-year adjusted pretax profit guidance range is GBP910 million to GBP950 million. It expects adjusted pretax profit at the top end of this range.
Ryanair shares edged down 1.2% after the budget airline unveiled plans to delist from the London Stock Exchange.
Ryanair had been weighing up such as move for a while now, mentioning the possibility alongside the release of its interim results at the start of the month. At that time, it said trading of its shares in London had "reduced materially during 2021".
"The migration away from the LSE is consistent with a general trend for trading in shares of EU corporates post-Brexit and is, potentially, more acute for Ryanair as a result of the long-standing prohibition on non-EU citizens purchasing Ryanair's ordinary shares being extended to UK nationals following Brexit," it said earlier this month.
Ryanair has now decided to request a cancellation of its London listing, expected to be effective from December 20, and will consolidate trading liquidity to one regulated market "for the benefit of all shareholders".
Ryanair has a primary listing in the Euronext Dublin market and also has American depositary shares listed on Nasdaq in New York.
The FTSE 100's largely dollar-earning membership was making headway despite a stronger pound. Sterling was quoted at USD1.3491 early Friday, higher than than USD1.3475 at the London equities close on Thursday.
UK retail sales on Friday capped this week's trend of better-than-expected data. Retail sales rose 0.8% month-on-month in October, accelerating from a flat reading for September and beating expectations, according to FXStreet, for a 0.5% rise.
Annually, the decline was 1.3%, worse than the 0.6% recorded for September but better than consensus forecasts for a 2% decline.
However, analysts said the figures were likely to be driven by early Christmas shopping as consumers worry about a supply squeeze in the run-up to the festive period.
"There are signs Christmas has come early for retailers with many shoppers not waiting until Halloween was over before hitting stores, spooked by warnings that some gifts and toys could be in short supply this year," said Susannah Streeter at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Aled Patchett, head of retail and consumer goods at Lloyds Bank, cautioned, however: "Retailers will need to consider what this means for their plans for 2022, though. It seems likely that consumers will be tightening their belts in the new year, particularly as some will be gearing up for a bumper Christmas after last year’s subdued festive season."
The euro traded at USD1.1337 early Friday, soft on USD1.1351 late Thursday. Data showed German producer prices jumped 18% year-on-year in October. This was the highest annual increase since November 1951, which saw a 21% rise.
Against the yen, the dollar rose to JPY114.45 versus JPY114.28. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock index closed up 0.5%.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced a record USD490 billion stimulus for the world's third-largest economy Friday as he looks to shore up the country's patchy pandemic recovery.
The JPY56 trillion injection, the third since the Covid crisis struck last year and expected to be approved by the cabinet later in the day, "is enough to deliver a sense of safety and hope to the Japanese people", Kishida said.
In China, the Shanghai Composite ended up 1.1%, while the S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney gained 0.2%.
The Hang Seng index closed down 1.1%, however. Hong Kong lagged the rest of Asia as shares in Alibaba tumbled 11%, a day after it announced quarterly profit sank and lowered its revenue outlook due to slowing economic growth and Beijing's tech crackdown.
Gold was quoted at USD1,858.91 an ounce early Friday, lower than USD1,861.03 on Thursday. Brent oil was trading at USD82.03 a barrel, jumping from USD80.30 late Thursday.
By Lucy Heming; lucyheming@alliancenews.com
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