LONDON MARKET OPEN: FTSE 100 outperforms Europe; Kingfisher upgraded

(Alliance News) - Stocks in London opened higher on Monday, outperforming its European counterparts, after gains in Asia overnight and New York at the end of last week.

The FTSE 100 index was up 6.37 points, or 0.1%, at 7,544.27 early Monday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index rose 19.44 points, or 0.1%, to 21,237.45. The AIM All-Share index was up 2.07 points, or 0.2%, at 1,047.16.

The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.2% at 751.60. The Cboe 250 was flat at 18,683.24, and the Cboe Small Companies climbed 0.1% to 15,385.31.

In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.4%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 0.6%.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, commented: "Markets continued their cautious grind higher, as investors took solace from a US economy which is showing increasing signs of being able to withstand the likely onslaught of interest rate rises to come.

"The generally positive baton has been passed to the UK in early trade following decent performances for the most part from the US and Asia, with the FTSE 100 consolidating its status as an outperformer this year."

In the FTSE 100, Kingfisher was up 2.7% after Deutsche Bank raised the DIY retailer to 'buy' from 'hold'.

At the other end of the large-caps, Aviva was down 1.0% after Barclays downgraded the insurer to 'equal weight' from 'overweight'.

Aviva on Monday said it appointed Charlotte Jones as its new chief financial officer with effect from September 5. Jones previously held the position of CFO at former FTSE 100-listed RSA Insurance Group and interim chief executive officer of the RSA UK & International business.

In the FTSE 250, Just Group was the best performer, up 9.0%, after Barclays upgraded the retirement specialist to 'overweight' from 'equal weight'.

On AIM, Fulham Shore was up 7.7% after the restaurant operator said following the removal of all Covid restrictions in February 2022, customers have continued to return to its Franco Manca and Real Greek restaurants in increasing numbers.

Fulham Shore said strong trading momentum and expansion drove a significant increase in revenue, comparable with the levels seen pre Covid-19.

As a result, it expects revenue, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation and adjusted headline Ebitda for the financial year ended March 27 will be ahead of last year's figures and comfortably ahead of market expectations.

Fulham Shore believes that market expectations for the year are currently revenue of GBP73.4 million, Ebitda of GBP16.5 million and adjusted headline Ebitda of GBP9.5 million.

Looking ahead, the firm said rising costs present a challenge to the industry, but it is well-placed to recover this through price hikes.

In Asia on Monday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.3%. Financial markets in Shanghai were closed for the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday, but were open in Hong Kong. The Hang Seng index was up 1.9% in late trade. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney ended up 0.3%.

Hong Kong led gains thanks to a rally in tech firms after Beijing removed a rule preventing US authorities from inspecting the audits of Chinese companies listed in New York.

The announcement came after a drawn-out row between the two countries with Washington saying Chinese firms could be delisted by 2024 if they do not comply with audit requirements.

The demand put at risk more than 200 companies including e-commerce companies Alibaba, JD.com and Tencent.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky called Russian troops "murderers, torturers, rapists, looters" on Monday after dozens of bodies were found near Kyiv, triggering global outrage and vows of tough new sanctions on Moscow.

Local authorities said they had been forced to dig communal graves to bury the dead accumulating in the streets, including some found with their hands bound behind their backs, in scenes that sent shockwaves through international capitals more than a month into Russia's invasion.

Despite Russian denials of responsibility, condemnation was swift, with Western leaders, NATO and the UN all voicing horror at reports of civilian murders in Bucha, northwest of Kyiv, and elsewhere.

The pound was quoted at USD1.3131 early Monday, up from USD1.3108 at the London equities close Friday.

The euro was priced at USD1.1040, up from USD1.1035. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY122.60, down from JPY122.82.

Brent oil was quoted at USD105.50 a barrel on Monday morning, up from USD105.32 late Friday. Gold stood at USD1,930.11 an ounce, firm against USD1,928.25.

By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com

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