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London open: Stocks rise on positive US, Asian cues
London stocks rose in early trade on Tuesday following mostly positive US and Asian sessions, as traders returned to their desks after the long Easter weekend.
At 0850 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.5% at 7,778.92.
Investors were digesting the latest data out of China, which showed that consumer price inflation slowed to 0.7% year-over-year in March from 1% growth in February, versus consensus expectations for it to be unchanged.
Meanwhile, PPI fell 2.5% in March after declining 1.4% the month before. This was in line with expectations.
On home shores, the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG showed that total retail sales rose 5.1% in March compared to the same month last year, down from 5.2% in February.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “While the wettest March in over forty years dampened sales growth for fashion, gardening and DIY products, Mother’s Day brightened up sales for the month. Stores were given an extra boost, as last-minute shoppers dashed to their local high streets and shopping centres to purchase jewellery, fragrances and flowers.”
In equity markets, Harbour Energy and BP have signed a deal to develop the Viking carbon capture transportation and storage project in the Humber region of north-east England, using depleted offshore gas fields.
Under the terms of the agreement, Harbour will continue as operator of the project with a 60% interest and BP acquiring a 40% non-operated stake.
Elsewhere, Glencore rallied following a report that the company’s chief executive Gary Nagle plans to meet with some of Teck Resources’ Canadian shareholders in Toronto this week to personally lobby them for support of its proposed takeover of the copper and zinc miner.
Cineworld tumbled after saying it had filed a plan for reorganisation with the US Bankruptcy Court that does not provide any recovery for its existing shareholders.
Top 10 FTSE 100 Risers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Antofagasta Plc | +3.18% | +47.00 | 1,527.00 |
| 2 |  |
Bhp Group Limited | +3.11% | +75.00 | 2,490.00 |
| 3 |  |
Rio Tinto Plc | +3.02% | +160.00 | 5,455.00 |
| 4 |  |
Persimmon Plc | +2.64% | +32.50 | 1,265.50 |
| 5 |  |
Bt Group Plc | +2.44% | +3.65 | 153.05 |
| 6 |  |
Flutter Entertainment Plc | +2.34% | +345.00 | 15,085.00 |
| 7 |  |
Glencore Plc | +2.34% | +10.70 | 468.05 |
| 8 |  |
Centrica Plc | +2.25% | +2.50 | 113.85 |
| 9 |  |
Kingfisher Plc | +2.24% | +5.50 | 251.20 |
| 10 |  |
Smith & Nephew Plc | +2.19% | +25.00 | 1,166.00 |
Top 10 FTSE 100 Fallers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Tui Ag | -5.35% | -33.40 | 590.60 |
| 2 |  |
Hiscox Ltd | -1.32% | -15.00 | 1,121.00 |
| 3 |  |
Rolls-royce Holdings Plc | -1.18% | -1.75 | 146.20 |
| 4 |  |
Experian Plc | -1.08% | -29.00 | 2,651.00 |
| 5 |  |
Crh Plc | -0.97% | -37.00 | 3,776.00 |
| 6 |  |
Spirax-sarco Engineering Plc | -0.96% | -110.00 | 11,375.00 |
| 7 |  |
Pearson Plc | -0.81% | -6.80 | 835.80 |
| 8 |  |
Gsk Plc | -0.74% | -11.20 | 1,511.80 |
| 9 |  |
Diageo Plc | -0.61% | -22.50 | 3,662.00 |
| 10 |  |
Coca-cola Hbc Ag | -0.61% | -14.00 | 2,279.00 |
Tuesday newspaper round-up: TV subscriptions, Unilever, NatWest
UK consumers cut back on groceries, clothes shopping and eating out last month but streaming and pay TV subscriptions jumped as cash-conscious viewers switched to nights in. The return of big hit series such as Succession, The Mandalorian and Ted Lasso fuelled a healthy 4.1% increase in spend on digital content and subscriptions in March, the highest year-on-year rise in five months, according to Barclays’ regular snapshot of consumer credit and debit card use. – Guardian
The Treasury spent almost half a million pounds on an unused emergency scheme for energy traders launched by Liz Truss that was quietly closed earlier this year. The energy markets financing scheme (EMFS) was devised by the Treasury and the Bank of England as a £40bn government-guaranteed backstop fund to provide stability for energy and financial markets. – Guardian
An era of ultra-low interest rates will return as soaring inflation becomes a historical blip, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said. In a boon to homeowners, the Washington-based organisation, said that an ageing population coupled with low productivity will tame inflation and lead to interest rates returning to pre-pandemic levels. – Telegraph
Unilever needs to sharpen up operationally and demonstrate how its strategy for buying and selling businesses adds value, a large shareholder has said. Speaking before the arrival in July of Hein Schumacher, 51, the new chief executive, Sue Noffke, head of UK equities at Schroders, said the Dove-to-Domestos group needed to get better at proving it could exploit its distribution channels and marketing expertise to extract the benefit from deals. – The Times
Marshall Wace has built the biggest short-selling bet against NatWest ever recorded by the City regulator as fears about the health of the global banking system cause turbulence in shares throughout the sector. Disclosures to the Financial Conduct Authority show that Marshall Wace, one of the world’s biggest hedge funds with about $61 billion of assets, has taken a 0.61 per cent net short position in shares of the taxpayer-backed lender. – The Times
