Hot Features
Premium
Level up your trading with our powerful tools and real-time insights all in one place.
London open: FTSE ticks up as investors mull German election result; B&M slumps
London stocks edged higher in early trade on Monday as investors mulled news that Germany’s conservatives have won the national election, as expected.
At 0845 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 8,678.27.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “A dose of more certainty has been injected into European politics, with the Germany’s Conservatives winning the elections. It comes at a crucial time for the continent. Three years on from the invasion of Ukraine, high stakes deal making between the US and Russia continues, Ukraine is out in the cold and the outcome will have huge implications for security in Europe.
“There is a dawning realisation that European nations will have to pull together and present a more united deterrent force, and Friedrich Merz, the CDU leader, is reading from that script. He has pledged to relax fiscal rules, to increase defence spending and inject the economy with much needed investment.
“But while Merz seems determined to ease off the so-called debt brake, which limits annual borrowing to 0.35% of GDP, it won’t be straightforward, because he will need a two-third majority in parliament. However, with Russia’s aggression set to stay an unrelenting black cloud, the recognition of the need to contribute more to NATO’s budget may see political factions pull together.”
In equity markets, British Gas owner Centrica was still on the rise after well-received results last Thursday, when it hiked its dividend and announced a £500m share buyback as full-year earnings beat forecasts.
National Grid gained as it announced the sale of its US onshore renewables business, National Grid Renewables, to Brookfield Asset Management and its institutional partners, including Brookfield Renewable Partners, for $1.7bn.
Deliveroo jumped as Just Eat Takeaway.com agreed to be bought by Dutch private equity firm Prosus in a €4.1bn deal.
On the downside, discount retailer B&M European Value Retail slumped as it cut profit guidance again, citing an uncertain economic outlook and said chief executive Alex Russo would retire at the end of April.
The company said annual adjusted EBITDA was now expected to be in the range of £605m to £625m, down from previously-trimmed guidance of £620m to £650m outlined in January.
The latest cut also includes the potential impact of exchange rate volatility on the valuation of stock and creditor balances.
Top 10 FTSE 100 Risers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Centrica Plc | +3.00% | +4.35 | 149.45 |
| 2 |  |
Bae Systems Plc | +2.15% | +27.00 | 1,282.50 |
| 3 |  |
Gsk Plc | +1.78% | +25.50 | 1,454.50 |
| 4 |  |
Vodafone Group Plc | +1.69% | +1.12 | 67.32 |
| 5 |  |
Sse Plc | +1.54% | +23.00 | 1,517.50 |
| 6 |  |
Barratt Redrow Plc | +1.46% | +6.20 | 430.80 |
| 7 |  |
Banco Santander S.a. | +1.34% | +6.50 | 491.00 |
| 8 |  |
British American Tobacco Plc | +1.32% | +39.00 | 3,004.00 |
| 9 |  |
Imperial Brands Plc | +1.30% | +35.00 | 2,719.00 |
| 10 |  |
Melrose Industries Plc | +1.27% | +7.80 | 620.60 |
Top 10 FTSE 100 Fallers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
South32 Limited | -2.71% | -5.10 | 183.00 |
| 2 |  |
Carnival Plc | -2.69% | -46.50 | 1,683.50 |
| 3 |  |
Flutter Entertainment Plc | -2.56% | -570.00 | 21,720.00 |
| 4 |  |
Intercontinental Hotels Group Plc | -2.20% | -218.00 | 9,682.00 |
| 5 |  |
Standard Chartered Plc | -2.16% | -25.50 | 1,157.50 |
| 6 |  |
Antofagasta Plc | -2.01% | -36.50 | 1,783.50 |
| 7 |  |
Anglo American Plc | -1.82% | -44.50 | 2,395.50 |
| 8 |  |
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd | -1.66% | -74.00 | 4,376.00 |
| 9 |  |
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Plc | -1.40% | -15.50 | 1,092.50 |
| 10 |  |
Natwest | -1.37% | -6.20 | 445.60 |
US close: Stocks sharply lower amid economic growth fears
Wall Street stocks turned in big losses again on Friday amid fears that the US economy was slowing.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.69% at 43,288.02, while the S&P 500 lost 1.71% to 6,013.13 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 2.20% weaker at 19,524.01.
The Dow closed 748.63 points lower on Friday as the blue-chip index delivered its worst single-day loss so far this year.
The University of Michigan‘s consumer sentiment index was in focus on Friday as it was downwardly revised in February, dropping from 67.8 to 64.7 for the lowest reading since November 2023.
Elsewhere, existing home sales fell by 4.9% to 4.08m in January, according to the National Association of Realtors, the sharpest decline since for seven months and falling short of expectations for a reading of 4.12m.
UnitedHealth shares headed south after The Wall Street Journal revealed that the health insurance giant was under investigation by the Justice Department for incentivising Doctors to find additional diagnoses for lucrative conditions, claiming that UnitedHealth-employed doctors were trained to “document revenue-generating diagnoses, including some they felt were obscure or irrelevant”.
Retail giant Walmart also traded lower after issuing some weaker-than-expected guidance that also led to concerns regarding the state of the economy and consumer sentiment.
On another note, S&P Global‘s manufacturing PMI rose to 51.6 in February, according to preliminary estimates, up from 51.2 in January and ahead of expectations of 51.5 for the highest reading since June 2024. Factory output grew for a second straight month, while new order growth slowed.
Monday newspaper round-up: UK hospitality, net zero, Aston Martin, Warren Buffett
More than two-thirds of hospitality businesses will reduce staffing as a result of tax changes taking effect in April, according to research by industry bodiescalling on the government to delay the changes. The survey of pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels found that 70% expected to cut back on employment levels because of the higher costs and reduction in rates relief announced in last autumn’s budget. – Guardian
The net zero sector is growing three times faster than the overall UK economy, analysis has found, providing high-wage jobs across the country while cutting climate-heating emissions and increasing energy security. The net zero economy grew by 10% in 2024 and generated £83bn in gross value added (GVA), a measure of how much value companies add through the goods and services they produce. – Guardian
Britain’s jobs market suffered the worst start to a year since the depths of the Covid lockdowns in 2021, as hard-pressed employers cut hiring in the face of Rachel Reeves’s record tax increases. Fewer than 828,500 jobs were available in January, a drop of 1.9pc compared with December and down by 4.5pc from January of last year, according to vacancies website Adzuna. – Telegraph
Aston Martin Lagonda is to row back on plans to become an electric car manufacturer within a couple of years when its new chief executive Adrian Hallmark resets the company’s strategy at its annual results this Wednesday. Hallmark, 62, who joined the listed carmaker in the autumn having previously led its rival, Bentley Motors, is expected to say that the eagerly awaited electric Aston Martin is still coming but only “before 2030”. – The Times
Warren Buffett has avowed Berkshire Hathaway’s commitment to equities as the veteran billionaire investor defended the company’s record cash pile in his annual letter to shareholders. Buffett, 94, dubbed the Sage of Omaha, has a long track record of striking big deals but the high valuations in US stocks has curbed activity and alongside stock disposals, including Apple, has led the conglomerate’s cash pile to hit $334.2 billion at the end of 2024. – The Times
