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London open: Stocks little changed as investors sift through trading updates
Stocks in London were little changed in early trade as investors sifted through a raft of trading statements ahead of the latest rate announcement from the European Central Bank.
At 0825 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.1% to 7,244.17. Meanwhile, oil prices were higher, with Texas Intermediate up 1% to $51.59 a barrel and Brent crude 1.2% firmer at $54.60.
There are no major UK data due but the ECB rate announcement is at 1245 GMT, with no change expected to headline rates or the bond-buying programme.
Accendo Markets‘ Mike van Dulken said: “The latter remains in full swing after last month’s extension to Dec 2017, albeit with purchases at a slower pace from April. However, any hints about the path for QE would be welcome (1.30pm Draghi press conference), given the quasi-taper we saw last month especially in light of solid growth and confidence readings, although inflation remains worryingly weak and political risk rife, thus supporting an accommodative stance until at least year end.”
On the corporate front, British Land edged lower as it said retail footfall in the three months to the end of December outperformed the benchmark, but added that it remains mindful of potential headwinds going forward.
Royal Mail slumped as the dwindling volume of letters to Father Christmas and other festive missives continued to hold back its sales, with revenues remaining flat in the nine months to 25 December.
Pets at Home sank after it posted a 4.4% rise in group revenue for the third quarter and said the profit outlook for the year remains in line with expectations, while Acacia Mining was on the back foot after its fourth-quarter production results.
Anglo-Australian miner BHP Billiton ticked higher after saying it and its Brazilian iron-ore joint venture with Vale SA, Samarco Mineracao, have set a 30 June deadline with federal prosecutors in Brazil to settle a $47.5bn claim related a dam failure in November 2015 which killed 19 people.
Moneysupermarket.com surged after saying it expects to deliver strong full-year results, with revenue ahead by around 12% on the year.
Retailer Halfords was also sharply higher as it maintained its profit expectations for the full year following better-than-expected trading over the Christmas period.
N Brown shares rallied as it reported 4.1% growth in group revenue for the 18 weeks to the end of December, underpinned by a strong performance in the run-up to and during Black Friday.
Investors were also digesting the latest figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, which showed the housing market in the UK cooled in December, experiencing its weakest month since June.
RICS’ headline house price balance declined to +24 from +29 in November, missing analysts’ expectations for a nudged up to +30.
Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at RICS, said: “The latest survey provides further evidence that both price and rent pressures are continuing to spread from the more highly valued to more modestly valued parts of the market for good or ill.”
