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London open: Stocks nudge lower ahead of eurozone, US inflation data
London stocks nudged a touch lower in early trade on Thursday as investors eyed eurozone and US inflation data.
At 0900 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 7,412.87.
The eurozone data is due at 1000 GMT, while US PCE for October is scheduled for release at 1330 GMT.
Investors were also looked ahead to an OPEC+ meeting later in the day, during which the oil cartel is expected to cut the amount of crude oil it produces.
In equity markets, broker notes were having an impact, with NatWest among the top performers on the FTSE 100 after an upgrade to ‘overweight’ at JPMorgan.
B&M European Value Retail was also higher after an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Peel Hunt and an initiation of coverage at ‘equalweight’ by Morgan Stanley.
Metro Bank rallied as it announced plans to axe around 20% of its staff and said it was reviewing its policy of keeping branches open seven days a week as it looks to save around £50m a year.
On the downside, Severn Trent, Bellway and Johnson Matthey all fell as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.
Auction Technology slid as it posted a 24% drop in full-year pre-tax profit and revenue missed expectations.
Iconic bootmaker Dr Martens tumbled as it warned on profits, saying the Autumn/Winter season has been hit by warm weather and weaker traffic.
The company now expects FY24 revenue to decline by high single-digit percentage year-on-year, on a constant currency basis. Assuming this revenue outturn, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation are expected to be “moderately” below the bottom end of the range of consensus expectations of between £223.7m and £240m.
Media group Future was under the cosh after a downgrade to ‘sell’ at Canaccord Genuity.
Mitchells & Butlers also lost ground as the restaurants, pubs and bars group reported a big decline in annual profits on the back of significant cost headwinds and property valuation movements, which outweighed strong sales growth over the year.
Top 10 FTSE 100 Risers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Rolls-royce Holdings Plc | +2.43% | +6.40 | 269.80 |
| 2 |  |
Smith (ds) Plc | +2.11% | +6.00 | 290.20 |
| 3 |  |
Bp Plc | +1.94% | +9.15 | 481.10 |
| 4 |  |
Carnival Plc | +1.84% | +19.00 | 1,051.00 |
| 5 |  |
Smurfit Kappa Group Plc | +1.60% | +46.00 | 2,918.00 |
| 6 |  |
Ocado Group Plc | +1.25% | +7.40 | 601.00 |
| 7 |  |
Easyjet Plc | +1.23% | +5.50 | 451.90 |
| 8 |  |
Imperial Brands Plc | +1.12% | +20.50 | 1,855.00 |
| 9 |  |
Whitbread Plc | +0.93% | +29.00 | 3,139.00 |
| 10 |  |
Standard Chartered Plc | +0.91% | +5.80 | 646.20 |
Top 10 FTSE 100 Fallers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Johnson Matthey Plc | -3.08% | -49.50 | 1,557.00 |
| 2 |  |
Severn Trent Plc | -2.76% | -75.00 | 2,641.00 |
| 3 |  |
Prudential Plc | -1.03% | -8.80 | 845.40 |
| 4 |  |
Experian Plc | -0.86% | -25.00 | 2,893.00 |
| 5 |  |
Antofagasta Plc | -0.85% | -12.00 | 1,406.50 |
| 6 |  |
Flutter Entertainment Plc | -0.76% | -95.00 | 12,365.00 |
| 7 |  |
United Utilities Group Plc | -0.76% | -8.50 | 1,116.50 |
| 8 |  |
Anglo American Plc | -0.72% | -15.50 | 2,123.00 |
| 9 |  |
Rentokil Initial Plc | -0.71% | -3.10 | 431.50 |
| 10 |  |
3i Group Plc | -0.67% | -15.00 | 2,216.00 |
US close: Stocks deliver mixed performance following GDP beat
Wall Street stocks delivered a mixed performance on Wednesday following the release of US GDP figures that came in ahead of expectations,
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.04% at 35,430.42, while the S&P 500 lost 0.09% to 4,550.58 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.16% weaker at 14,353.79.
The Dow closed 13.44 points higher on Wednesday, narrowly extending gains recorded in the previous session.
Comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller were still in focus on Wednesday after he seemed to indicate that he thinks current monetary policy appears to be sufficiently restrictive to cool inflation back down to the central bank’s 2% target. On the back of the news, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell below 4.3% for the first time since September.
However, Wednesday’s primary focus was news that the US economy grew more than initially estimated in the third quarter, according to the Commerce Department. GDP grew 5.2% in the three months to September, ahead of the initial estimate of 4.9% growth. On the other hand, the figures also showed that consumer spending rose 3.6% from July to September, a downward revision on a previous estimate of 4%.
Elsewhere on the macro front, the US trade deficit in goods widened to $89.8bn in October, according to an advance estimate from the Census Bureau, up from a revised $86.8bn reading for the previous month. Exports declined by 1.7% to $170.8bn, while imports remained unchanged at $260.7bn.
On another note, wholesale inventories fell 0.2% month-on-month in October, according to the Census Bureau, following a downwardly revised 0.1% rise in September and falling short of market estimates for a 0.1% increase. Non-durable stocks fell 0.6% and durable inventories increased 0.1%.
Finally, US mortgage applications edged 0.3% higher on the week ending 24 November, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, marking the fourth consecutive rise in mortgage applications since hitting a 28-year low in late October. Applications for new homes rose by 4.7% month-on-month, offsetting an 8.9% decline in applications to refinance a home. The increase comes as the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage with conforming loan balances fell to a ten-week low of 7.37%
In the corporate space, automotive giant General Motors revealed on Wednesday that it will return a “significant” amount of capital to shareholders and hike its quarterly dividend as it looks to put recent strikes behind it, while sporting goods retailer Foot Locker beat earnings expectations with its latest earnings and guided to better-than-estimated sales in the pivotal fourth quarter.
Hormel Foods delivered full-year profits that came in below estimates, reflecting weak markets for turkey products and lower branded export volumes, and lower sales in China, while discount retailer Dollar Tree trimmed its annual sales forecasts and placed its Family Dollar business under review.
After the bell, Salesforce shares were higher in after-hours trading on the back of better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with revenues up 11%.
Thursday newspaper round-up: BNPL, Saga, Farfetch
More than a quarter of adults in the UK will use buy now, pay later to help with festive spending, research suggests, with the proportion rising to more than half of parents with young children. The survey for Citizens Advice also found 11% of respondents used such credit schemes to pay for groceries, a proportion that rose to 35% for regular BNPL users. – Guardian
As champagne crashed over the bow of Saga’s new Spirit of Discovery cruise ship in 2019, Saga’s management team, flanked by the then-Duchess of Cornwall, were in high spirits. The group toasted a landmark moment for the insurance-to-travel specialist. The ship was one of two built to order for Saga and was meant to usher in better times for the business, which has offered package holidays and insurance to millions of over-50s for decades. – Telegraph
Office landlords are facing a £34bn cash crunch in Europe as staff shift to working from home, economists have warned. High interest rates and a slump in office values after the pandemic mean Europe’s commercial real estate sector will be hit by a funding shortfall between 2023 and 2026, according to S&P Global Ratings. – Telegraph
Signa, the investment group and Selfridges shareholder, has become the biggest casualty yet of a crash in European commercial property as its last-ditch attempts to secure fresh capital failed. The insolvency of the heavily indebted group will heighten concerns about the health of the property industry, which is battling rising debt costs and faces pressure on valuations, linked to changing working habits. – The Times
Shares in Farfetch, the London-based, New York-listed luxury fashion retailer crashed by 50 per cent after it delayed publication of its results and said previous guidance “should not be relied upon”. The shock update sent the company’s value to an all-time low, five years since it floated at £6.3 billion in 2018. – The Times
