London open: Stocks steady as investors eye US data

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were steady in early trade on Thursday as investors eyed the latest US jobless claims, but Melrose was a high riser after well-received results.
At 0840 BST, the FTSE 100 was flat at 7,151.38.

Oanda analyst Jeffrey Halley said: "US initial jobless claims will receive more attention than usual after the ADP data on Wednesday and ahead of the non-farm payrolls report on Friday.

"But most eyes are likely to be focused on US factory orders for July. In the bigger picture, though, it looks like we are in for a headline-driven 24 hours in financial markets until tomorrow's main event in New York.

"Current expectations are for a 750,000 jobs non-farm payroll print. With the taper doves in control at the moment, a much higher number is likely to have the greatest surprise factor. That said, the street now looks locked and loaded for a good old-fashioned FOMO-buy-everything sell US dollars move if the data is soft."

The jobless claims are scheduled for release at 1330 BST.

In equity markets, ex-dividend stocks were a drag, with Admiral, BHP and Centamin among those in the frame.

Housebuilder Barratt Developments fell even as it reported a 65% jump in full-year profit amid "strong" demand. In the year to 30 June, pre-tax profit rose to £812.2m from £491.8m the year before, with revenues up 40.7% at £4.8bn. Meanwhile, total completions were 36.8% higher at 17,243.

Online trading platform CMC Markets tumbled more than 25% after cutting its full-year earnings outlook as it highlighted subdued trading and reduced market volatility. The company now expects FY 2022 net operating income of between £250m and £280m, down from previous guidance of in excess of £330m.

Residential landlord Grainger was trading down after it raised £209m in a discounted placing to help fund acquisitions.

JD Sports ticked lower after the UK's competition regulator reiterated its decision to block the company's takeover of Footasylum and called for JD to sell the business.

On the upside, GKN owner Melrose Industries rallied after saying it was trading ahead of expectations as the turnaround company reported a narrower loss for the first half of 2021. The company reported a statutory pre-tax loss of £151m for the six months to the end of June compared with a £585m loss a year earlier as revenue rose to £3.54bn from £3.39bn.



Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,151.38 0.02%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,195.70 -0.23%
techMARK (TASX) 4,859.28 0.13%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Melrose Industries (MRO) 179.84p 4.63%
Evraz (EVR) 594.60p 1.54%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,102.00p 1.12%
Informa (INF) 562.60p 1.11%
Prudential (PRU) 1,497.00p 1.08%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,812.00p 1.08%
Rightmove (RMV) 728.20p 1.05%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,388.00p 1.05%
SSE (SSE) 1,666.00p 0.82%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 8,580.00p 0.75%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

BHP Group (BHP) 2,116.00p -5.15%
Admiral Group (ADM) 3,473.00p -4.25%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 724.60p -2.45%
Unilever (ULVR) 3,955.00p -2.20%
BT Group (BT.A) 165.95p -1.60%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,630.00p -1.20%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,500.00p -1.02%
Kingfisher (KGF) 351.60p -0.93%
Entain (ENT) 1,964.00p -0.71%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,008.00p -0.67%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Homeserve (HSV) 988.00p 3.13%
Biffa (BIFF) 396.00p 2.19%
Energean (ENOG) 692.00p 1.69%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 5,008.00p 1.52%
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 525.50p 1.45%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,592.50p 1.43%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 383.60p 1.43%
UK Commercial Property Reit Limited (UKCM) 80.50p 1.26%
Moonpig Group (MOON) 393.40p 1.13%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 465.20p 1.13%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

CMC Markets (CMCX) 309.00p -26.43%
Auction Technology Group (ATG) 1,496.00p -8.89%
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 890.00p -5.82%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 610.50p -3.86%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 1,426.50p -3.12%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 97.38p -2.86%
ICG Enterprise Trust (ICGT) 1,162.00p -2.84%
Vietnam Enterprise Investments (DI) (VEIL) 688.00p -2.55%
LondonMetric Property (LMP) 258.60p -2.49%
888 Holdings (888) 412.00p -2.37%