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London open: Stocks little changed as investors eye central bank meetings
Stocks in London were little changed in early trade following a pretty subdued session on Wall Street, as investors look to rate announcements by the Bank of Japan and the Federal Reserve on Wednesday.
At 0820 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.1% to 6,806.21.
Meanwhile, oil prices fell back. West Texas Intermediate was down 0.8% at $42.97 a barrel and Brent crude was 0.5% lower at $45.70.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: “Following Monday’s super surge the European markets look a bit puffed-out, starting Tuesday with very little sign of movement. The reason behind this sudden slowdown is likely the proximity of Wednesday’s central bank bonanza, with the September meeting of the Bank of Japan and, especially, the Federal Reserve bookending the middle of the week.
“While yesterday’s growth was by and large sparked by the assumption that the Fed won’t pull the trigger on another hike during tomorrow’s meeting, investors can’t be 100% sure, therefore causing the jittery start to this morning.”
In corporate news, B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher traded higher after it nailed an encouraging increase in first half profits and confirmed early progress in chief executive Vronique Laury’s ambitious turnaround project.
Water utility and waste management company Pennon Group was in the black as it said it is on course to meet expectations for the 2017 financial year as its portfolio of energy recovery facilities remains on track to meet its target.
Sports Direct nudged up as it agreed to undertake an independent review of its working practices and corporate governance.
On the downside, pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline was weaker after announcing that Emma Walmsley – the current chief executive of the company’s consumer healthcare division – is to be appointed CEO designate, and will succeed Andrew Witty as CEO when he retires on 31 March 2017.
FTSE 250 spreadbetting firm IG Group fell sharply after saying it performed well in the three months to the end of August in what was a challenging quarter, but reporting a drop in UK & Ireland revenue as markets became increasingly subdued after Brexit.
There are no major UK data releases due, but in the US, housing starts are at 1330 BST.
