LONDON (Alliance News) - UK stock prices were trading flat just after the open Thursday, as stocks going ex-dividend counterbalanced the benefit of a higher oil price.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.17 points, to 6,410.43. The blue-chip index was supported by firm oil prices which surged Wednesday after the US Energy Information Administration's crude oil inventories rose by less than expected.
Just before the London equities open, Brent crude reached its highest level since November at USD46.10 a barrel. However, after the open, the North Sea benchmark fell to USD45.66. This was still higher compared to USD44.39 at the London equities close on Wednesday.
This meant oil companies BP, up 0.7%, and Royal Dutch Shell 'A', up 0.3%, were amongst the best performers in the blue-chip index. In the FTSE 250, oil producer Tullow Oil was up 3.1%, Ophir Energy was up 2.3% and oil services company Amec Foster Wheeler was up 2.1%.
The FTSE 250 index itself was flat at 17,012.00 and the AIM All-Share was up 0.1% at 734.41. In Europe, the French CAC 40 index was flat and the German DAX 30 was up 0.2%.
In Asia Thursday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo ended up 2.7% Thursday, while the Shanghai Composite ended down 0.7%. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is up 1.4%.
London's FTSE 100 was being weighed down by stocks going ex-dividend, meaning new buyers no longer qualify for the latest dividend payment. Outsourcer Capita traded down 2.7%, defence contractor BAE Systems down 2.6%, and medical devices company Smith & Nephew down 1.5%.
Outside of ex-dividend stocks, Sky shares were down 1.7% even though the company said operating profit rose 12% in the first nine months of its financial year, as revenue growth was driven by strong customer additions during the third quarter.
The pay-television provider said operating profit rose to GBP1.14 billion in the nine months to end-March, compared to GBP1.02 billion a year before, as revenue rose to GBP8.72 billion from GBP8.32 billion. This included a strong performance in the UK and Ireland and in Germany and Austria, which helped offset a small decline in Italy.
Total costs were up 4% in the nine months, including a 5% rise in programming costs as Sky continued to invest in its content portfolio, it said. Sky added 177,000 new customers in the third quarter, taking its total retail customers to 21.7 million.
Anglo American was up 1.0% after it said production was in line with its expectations in the first quarter of 2016 as the multi-commodity miner reiterated its guidance for the full year.
Anglo, which is in the process of narrowing its focus to diamonds, platinum and copper, said the first-quarter production results reflect the major restructuring programme under way and the company's ongoing efficiency and cost-reduction strategy.
Mid-cap diversified engineer Smiths Group traded up 4.4% after it struck a USD710.0 million deal to acquire the US's Morpho Detection from French engineering group Safran.
Morpho is a California-based detection and security technology company, Smiths said, and will be merged into the UK-listed company's existing Smiths Detection business.
Morpho makes and supplies detection systems and services to airports, border control services and other high-risk critical infrastructure sites, such as nuclear power plants, military installations and government buildings.
Ladbrokes shares were performing well as well, up 3.0%. The bookmaker reported growth in group net revenue in the first quarter of 2016, despite the period including the "worst" Cheltenham horse racing festival "in living memory", and said its merger with Gala Coral Group is on track.
The company said group net revenue in the three months ended March 31 grew by 11% year-on-year. UK retail net revenue rose by 4.1% driven by good football staking growth, European retail net revenue was up 6.5%, and digital net revenue increased by 37% driven by strong growth in sportsbook and gaming.
Ladbrokes added that it continues to work with the UK Competition and Markets Authority and "remains confident" on the case for its merger with Gala Coral.
Pets at Home Group reported growth in revenue in its recently-ended financial year, driven by a good performance in both its merchandise and services divisions and as it added 1.3 million members to its VIP club.
The pet products and services provider said group revenue in the year ended March 31 grew to GBP793.1 million from GBP729.1 million the year before, as like-for-like revenue grew by 2.1%.
By division, merchandise like-for-likes were up by 1.4% and services like-for-likes increased by 10%. Merchandise revenue rose to GBP710.2 million from GBP666.1 million, and services revenue grew to GBP82.9 million from GBP63.0 million. The stock was up 3.1% in early trade.
The focus of the day will be on the European Central Bank which releases its monetary policy decision at 1245 BST, followed by a press conference with President Mario Draghi at 1330 BST in Frankfurt. Analysts are not expecting the central bank to announce new easing measures, following the significant package launched in March.
Elsewhere in the economic calendar, UK retail sales are at 0930 BST, at the same time as public sector net borrowing. US initial and continuing jobless claims are out at 1330 BST, as is the Philadelphia Federal Reserve manufacturing survey.
Later is the US housing price index at 1400 BST and a preliminary reading of eurozone consumer confidence at 1500 BST.
By Neil Thakrar; neilthakrar@alliancenews.com; @NeilThakrar1
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