London open: Stocks fall as Trump speech disappoints; housebuilders buck trend

(Sharecast News) - London stocks fell in early trade, taking their cue from weakness in Asia amid escalating unrest in Hong Kong and after US President Trump's eagerly-awaited speech in New York left investors disappointed.
At 0830 GMT, the FTSE 100 was 0.4% lower at 7,336.88, while the pound was down 0.1% against the dollar at 1.2839 and flat versus the euro at 1.1668.

In his speech at the economic club of New York on Tuesday, Trump said a trade deal with China could happen "soon" but provided no new details on negotiations between the two countries and threatened to raise tariffs on China "very substantially" if it does not make a deal with the US.

ING economist Robert Carnell said Trump's speech "contained little new to judge the imminence of a trade deal with China, and it provided little evidence of the substance of any such deal".

Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said mixed messages from Trump and "the seemingly uncontrollable situation in Hong Kong" left Asian equity markets "shaken". This translated into a weaker open in Europe.

In equity markets, tensions in Hong Kong meant that stocks with exposure to Asia were under pressure, with HSBC, Prudential and Burberry all weaker.

British Land was on the back foot as it reported a drop in first-half profit and the value of its portfolio amid challenging retail markets.

Tullow Oil tumbled after cutting its 2019 oil production guidance and saying that free cash flow for the year would be lower than expected due to issues at its Ghana field.

Cineworld shares fell after an initiation at 'underweight' by Morgan Stanley.

On the upside, housebuilders rallied after Taylor Wimpey said it was on track to deliver full-year results in line with expectations, albeit with slightly higher volumes and slightly lower operating margins than guided at the half year. Barratt Developments, Persimmon and Bellway were all higher.

Coca-Cola HBC, which bottles Coca-Cola products, fizzed higher as it hailed a "solid" third quarter despite adverse weather conditions.

Engineer Smiths Group advanced after posting an 11% jump in first-quarter revenue and backing its expectations for the full year.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,336.88 -0.39%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,325.54 -0.50%
techMARK (TASX) 4,004.39 -0.02%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,417.00p 2.46%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 652.20p 1.65%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 172.70p 1.62%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,176.50p 1.47%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,638.00p 1.24%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,481.00p 1.22%
Aveva Group (AVV) 4,458.00p 1.13%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 439.20p 0.69%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,228.00p 0.66%
Rightmove (RMV) 592.80p 0.65%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 578.90p -1.66%
ITV (ITV) 136.25p -1.48%
Prudential (PRU) 1,330.00p -1.37%
Barclays (BARC) 170.52p -1.30%
Carnival (CCL) 3,207.00p -1.26%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 205.50p -1.20%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 2,060.00p -1.20%
British Land Company (BLND) 568.60p -1.15%
WPP (WPP) 1,001.00p -1.14%
Centrica (CNA) 73.96p -1.12%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Games Workshop Group (GAW) 5,460.00p 1.77%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 1,384.00p 1.76%
Greggs (GRG) 2,136.00p 1.42%
G4S (GFS) 204.70p 1.14%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 112.15p 1.04%
Future (FUTR) 1,430.00p 0.85%
JPMorgan Indian Investment Trust (JII) 744.00p 0.81%
Bellway (BWY) 3,256.00p 0.77%
BBA Aviation (BBA) 304.60p 0.73%
Sophos Group (SOPH) 574.80p 0.60%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Tullow Oil (TLW) 171.50p -16.71%
Finablr (FIN) 165.40p -5.49%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 209.10p -4.30%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,450.00p -3.59%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 68.00p -3.55%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 519.00p -2.81%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 355.80p -2.36%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 3,730.00p -2.25%
Card Factory (CARD) 158.10p -1.86%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 133.10p -1.81%