Ocado Share News (OCDO)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Share prices in London were mixed Monday midday, having drifted between gains and losses throughout the morning, with weak trading in the mining sector weighing on the FTSE 100 index of large caps.

"The weakest of the major European indices, the FTSE couldn't quite sustain any foray into the green side of things this morning...The mining sector (what else?) remains the main culprit for the FTSE's struggles this morning," said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.1%, or 6.31 points, at 6,183.33. In Europe, the CAC 40 index in Paris and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt were down 0.3% and up 0.5%, respectively.

Any buying support for the blue-chip index was offset by London's heavyweight mining sector, with Antofagasta down 3.5% and Glencore down 2.4%. Shares in Randgold Resources were down 1.6% after Barclays removed the miner from its 'Top Picks' list.

The dollar has recovered some ground early Monday following its sharp decline last week after Federal Reserve policymakers last week scaled back the number of hikes to US interest rates they expect to make in 2016. The rebound in the greenback was weighing on oil and gold prices.

The pound was at USD1.4392 Monday midday, down from USD1.4489 at the London equities close Friday, while the euro was standing at USD1.1270 compared to USD1.1278 late Friday.

Brent was at USD41.16 a barrel at midday, slightly lower than the USD41.68 late Friday. The market was reacting to the US Baker Hughes rig count released on Friday showing that the number of oil rigs in the US rose for the first time since December, to 387 from 386.

"While the rise was marginal – only one in fact – it bucks the trend of declining rigs that has offered support to oil prices this year and driven expectations that production will fall and supply will fall more in line with demand," said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam. "This is the first real test of oil bulls' ability to drive a broader correction in price, with this news potentially sparking oversupply fears once again".

Elsewhere, J Sainsbury was up 1.2%. The supermarket chain late Friday decided to follow through on its decision to acquire Home Retail Group, the owner of Argos, after a rival bidder exited the race, despite stating the deal was not a "must-do" for the supermarket chain earlier in the week. Sainsbury's ended down 3.0% on Friday.

Sainsbury's became the sole runner in the race to purchase Home Retail after Steinhoff International Holdings, the other bidder which had placed a higher offer, said it would not make a firm offer for Home Retail after striking a deal to acquire Darty instead.

FTSE 250-listed Home Retail shares were up 1.4%, having dropped 9.9% on Friday. Meanwhile in the Main Market, Darty was down 1.0%, adding to the 0.6% loss from Friday.

Newly minted blue-chip Paddy Power Betfair was up 1.4% in its first day trading in the FTSE 100. Alongside the bookie, following the last quarterly review of FTSE indices, Mediclininc International, Wm Morrison Supermarkets and Informa started trading in the FTSE 100 on Monday. Sports Direct International, Aberdeen Asset Management, Smiths Group and Hikma Pharmaceuticals were demoted to the FTSE 250.

Mediclininc was down 0.3%, Informa up 0.5% and Morrisons up 0.1%.

Rising to the mid-cap index were Paysafe Group, KAZ Minerals, McCarthy & Stone and Softcat, while demoted from the FTSE 250 were Enterprise Inns, Nostrum Oil & Gas, 888 Holdings and Poundland Group.

The FTSE 250 was up 0.1%, or 8.61 points, at 16,909.93, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.1%, or 0.62 points, at 707.27.

Mid-cap specialty chemicals company Synthomer was up 5.1% after it agreed to acquire US-based chemicals company Hexion Performance Adhesives & Coatings, while it also announced the sale of a business in South Africa. Synthomer will pay USD226.0 million in cash to acquire Hexion, which manufacturers a range of dispersions, additives, powder coatings and speciality monomers, with a focus on a range of industries, including the building and construction market.

Meanwhile, Halfords Group was down 6.4% after UBS downgraded the car parts and bicycle retailer to Sell from Neutral. The Swiss bank downgraded home shopping company N Brown to Neutral from Buy, sending its shares 4.8% lower.

Oil and gas energy company Tullow Oil was down 2.7%, after being downgraded by Jefferies to Underperform from Hold.

Shares in Ocado Group were down 2.5%. Founder and Chief Executive Tim Steiner might be forced to sell part of his multimillion-pound stake in the online grocery delivery company amid a bitter divorce battle, according to a report by the Times.

The Times reported that Steiner is facing a legal fight with his wife after he moved in with a Polish model who is almost 20 years his junior. Court documents reveal that Steiner is seeking a divorce on the ground of his wife's "unreasonable behaviour", the Times said, adding that a court battle and expensive settlement could force a sale of part of his 5% stake in Ocado.

In New York, the DJIA, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 were all called for a flat open.

Still in the economic calendar, eurozone's consumer confidence data are due at 1500 GMT, while in the US, the Chicago Fed national activity index is at 1230 GMT.

Already released, eurozone's current account surplus decreased for a second straight month in January, data from the European Central Bank showed. The adjusted current account surplus dropped to EUR25.4 billion from EUR28.6 billion in December. A year ago, the surplus was EUR30.1 billion. As a percentage of GDP, the current account surplus was 3% in the 12-month period ending January.

The average asking price for a house in the UK increased for the third straight month in March, the latest survey from Rightmove revealed. House prices in England and Wales climbed 1.3% month-over-month in March. This follows a 2.9% hike in the previous month. The average selling price passed GBP300,000 for the first time, as demand rose and supply remained tight, the agency said. On an annual basis, house prices grew at a faster pace of 7.6% in March, following a 7.3% spike in the preceding month.

By Daniel Ruiz; danielruiz@alliancenews.com

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