London open: Stocks flat as Powell speech eyed for tapering clues

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were flat as a pancake in early trade on Friday as investors eyed a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole symposium for clues on tapering.
At 0820 BST, the FTSE 100 was unchanged at 7,124.98, with little in the way of corporate news and no UK macro data to move markets as we head towards the Bank Holiday weekend.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "Investors succumbed to a bout of nervousness ahead of the Jackson Hole symposium after a week of several record highs across markets.

"The jury remains out on whether Federal Reserve Chairman Powell will specifically address the taper timetable, especially ahead of next week's non-farm payroll numbers.

"However, hawkish comments from other Fed members ahead of the event suggested that the time had come for a wind down of stimulus, which would be announced at the September meeting if not at the symposium.

"At the same time, investors were initially rattled by a terrorist attack at Kabul airport, although some stronger corporate earnings mitigated the impact as the day wore on. With volumes remaining light during the summer period, and with some investors choosing to remain on the sidelines ahead of Jackson Hole, there was limited buying impetus."

On the corporate front, newsflow was unsurprisingly thin given the upcoming long weekend.

Primary Health Properties was in focus after saying it had bought the Townside Primary Care Centre and adjacent office building in Bury, Lancashire for £40m.

Elsewhere, aerospace and defence engineer Babcock rallied after an upgrade to 'overweight' from 'equalweight' at Barclays, which also lifted its price target to 424p from 315p.

The bank said that following the FY20 restatement, £2bn impairment, accounting policy changes and forthcoming disposal proceeds to mitigate balance sheet risk, Babcock looks set to generate meaningful cash flow from 2024, "returning as an attractive income play".

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,124.98 0.00%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,956.21 0.02%
techMARK (TASX) 4,832.15 0.00%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Fresnillo (FRES) 841.60p 0.62%
Kingfisher (KGF) 357.10p 0.37%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 2,072.00p 0.24%
NATWEST GROUP PLC ORD 100P (NWG) 218.00p 0.23%
SEGRO (SGRO) 1,268.00p 0.20%
Aviva (AV.) 414.00p 0.17%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 8,594.00p 0.16%
Experian (EXPN) 3,188.00p 0.13%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,063.00p 0.01%
Mondi (MNDI) 2,009.00p 0.00%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 6,795.00p -1.89%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 392.25p -0.81%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 3,895.00p -0.66%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,513.00p -0.48%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 16,005.00p -0.34%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,564.00p -0.29%
ITV (ITV) 118.10p -0.21%
Abrdn (ABDN) 264.00p -0.19%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,504.50p -0.10%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 122.40p -0.08%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Auction Technology Group (ATG) 1,606.00p 3.61%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 382.30p 2.55%
AJ Bell (AJB) 437.60p 2.10%
Hammerson (HMSO) 35.36p 1.26%
Moonpig Group (MOON) 403.40p 0.60%
Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 2,560.00p 0.59%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 122.60p 0.49%
Pennon Group (PNN) 1,257.00p 0.48%
International Public Partnerships Ltd. (INPP) 173.20p 0.46%
Assura (AGR) 78.30p 0.38%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 6,795.00p -1.89%
Carnival (CCL) 1,544.60p -1.40%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 418.00p -1.18%
Rotork (ROR) 331.20p -0.96%
SSP Group (SSPG) 270.00p -0.88%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 496.20p -0.86%
Wickes Group (WIX) 236.20p -0.84%
Marshalls (MSLH) 795.00p -0.56%
Hays (HAS) 162.60p -0.49%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 3,832.00p -0.47%