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London open: Stocks push higher as corporate news lends a hand
Stocks in London rose in early trade, underpinned by some well-received corporate news.
At 0830 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 1.2% to 6,811.92.
Spreadex‘s Connor Campbell said: “As Trump begins to (inevitably controversially) appointment his presidential team, and China warns of the impact on iPhone and car sales if the US decides to impose any tariffs on trader, last week’s electoral shock is continuing to dominate the markets. Not only that, but the markets themselves are continuing to confound expectations, seemingly reversing last Friday’s reversal this Monday morning.
“Rising by 80 points the FTSE once again finds itself back above 6800, roughly in the middle of its pre-election lows and post-election highs. The pound, on the other hand, has relinquished some of the ground it took back last week; it has shed 0.7% against the dollar while losing 0.1% against the euro, crucially, however, meaning it still sits above 1.25 and 1.16 respectively.2
Meanwhile, oil prices were little changed amid ongoing worries about oversupply. West Texas Intermediate was up 0.1% to $43.44 a barrel and Brent crude was 0.4% firmer at $44.91.
On the corporate front, housebuilder Taylor Wimpey advanced as it said in a trading update that the UK housing market remained resilient, despite the implications of Brexit still being unclear, and hailed strong trading in the second half.
Irish distribution and business support services company DCC surged after reporting a rise in half-year revenue and saying full-year operating profit is likely to be ahead of market expectations.
Legal & General was on the front foot after announcing the completion of a £1.10bn pension buyout deal with Rolls-Royce.
Standard Life gained ground despite saying that the possible combination involving its Indian joint venture, HDFC Life, and Max Life Insurance Company, Max Financial Services and Max India, had hit a roadblock.
Bookmaker William Hill pushed higher after saying it expects full-year adjusted operating profit to be at the top end of its guidance, while Tesco rallied as HSBC upped its stance on the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’.
Irish convenience food group Greencore was a high riser after reporting a jump in full-year revenue and earnings as it hiked its dividend and announced the proposed acquisition of Peacock Foods for an enterprise value of $747.5m.
Shares in gaming software development company Playtech rose as it agreed to buy Consolidated Financial Holdings for up to $120m – a deal it said will enhance its position as it continues to build a B2B offering in its financials division.
