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London open: Stocks flat as investors sift through corporate news; Draghi eyed
London stocks were steady in early trade on Thursday as investors sifted through corporate news and eyed a later announcement from the European Central Bank and ensuing press conference with Mario Draghi.
At 0830 BST, the FTSE was flat at 7,446.27, while the pound was down 0.2% against the euro at 1.1200 and 0.1% weaker versus the dollar at 1.3245.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: “After focusing on the pound and November’s prospective BoE rate hike, the markets turn their attention to a different currency and central bank pairing this Thursday.
“It’s the euro’s turn in the spotlight, with a potentially crucial ECB meeting on the cards this afternoon. Analysts are expecting Mario Draghi and his colleagues to announce the next stage of their QE tapering programme; one potential scenario is that the bond buying continues until at least September 2018, but at €20bn or €30bn a month rather than the current €60bn (which itself is down from €80bn at the start of the year).”
The ECB rate announcement is at 1245 BST, with the press conference at 1330 BST. On the UK data front, the CBI distributive trades survey is at 1100 BST.
In corporate news, Barclays slumped after third-quarter profits came in lower than expected as its investment banking business faced difficult markets, which was only partly offset by an improvement in the UK bank and the consumer credit arm.
Rare disease specialist Shire nudged down as it announced that the European Commission has approved a label extension granting a new indication for FIRAZYR (icatibant injection), broadening its use to adolescents and children aged two years and older, with hereditary angioedema (HAE) caused by C1-esterase-inhibitor (C1-INH) deficiency.
Fidessa was in the red after saying that constant currency revenue growth for 2017 is likely to be around the levels as the previous year, and that it is well placed to benefit from the opportunities that will arise in the market as a result of regulatory and structural change.
Car dealership Inchcape was on the back foot despite posting a 15% rise in third-quarter revenue.
Redefine fell after it posted a rise in its full-year profit but a drop in its dividend, while Barratt Developments, Ferguson, Galliford Try, ITV and William Hill were all weaker as their stock went ex-dividend.
On the upside, information and analytics company Relx edged higher after it reported continued underlying revenue growth in the first nine months of 2017 and reaffirmed its outlook for the full year.
Consumer goods giant Unilever racked up gains after saying its offer to buy back the bulk of its Dutch preference shares for around €450m had been declared unconditional.
National Express advanced as it lifted pre-tax profit 12% in the third quarter, while Bodycote rallied as it reported a 17% jump in third-quarter revenue and reaffirmed its outlook for the year.
Kaz Minerals rose after lifting its copper and gold guidance, while Acacia Mining was higher after Barrick Gold said it will work with the government of Tanzania to find a way for a gold export ban to be lifted on its Acacia unit.
Sirius Minerals was top of the FTSE 250 as it announced an offtake agreement for its future fertiliser output.
