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London open: Stocks nudge up with retail in focus again; Sainsburys gains on update
London stocks rose in early trade on Wednesday, with retailers in focus again following updates from Sainsbury’s, Ted Baker and Superdry, but gains were small after the top-flight index closed at a record high in the previous session and as investors looked to some key data releases.
At 0850 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.1% to 7,738.43, while the pound was 0.2% lower versus the greenback at 1.3519 and down 0.3% against the euro at 1.1314.
On the data front, UK manufacturing and industrial production and the goods trade balance are due at 0930 GMT.
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: “It’s an important day for UK data today with the latest manufacturing and industrial production data for November due out later this morning.
“Manufacturing has been a standout performer for the UK in Q4, if various independent surveys are to be believed, so it would be a surprise if today’s ONS announcements don’t confirm that picture.
The consensus forecast is for a rise of 0.3% for both manufacturing and industrial production, while the latest trade balance data is expected to show a deficit of £1.5bn.
Corporate news was all about the retailers again, with Sainsbury’s up as it said that following a solid Christmas trading period and a better-than-expected contribution from Argos, full year profits are now likely to beat the current consensus forecast.
Fashion retailer Ted Baker rallied as it hailed a “good” performance over the Christmas, with retail sales up 9%, and said full-year results should be in line with its expectations.
Trendy fashion outlet Superdry went the other way, however, after saying underlying half year pre-tax profits rose 20.5% to £25.3m as online sales helped to boost revenue along with forex tailwinds.
Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey was in the red as it said 2017 results would be in line with forecasts, and that it expects to achieve further growth and performance improvement in 2018.
Paddy Power Betfair fell after it appointed Dan Taylor to the newly-create role of chief executive officer of Europe and Barni Evans as CEO of its Australian operations, Sportsbet.
Big Yellow slipped as it revenues were up 8% in the third quarter, while LondonMetric fell even as it pocketed £5.8m from the sale of a B&Q warehouse in Hull through its joint venture with Universities Superannuation Scheme.
Aerospace and defence engineer Senior advanced after saying a good performance in November and December and a benefit from US tax changes will see earnings come in higher than expected, while recruiter Pagegroup surged as it said it had a “record” year in 2017.
Tullow Oil edged up after a positive trading statement, while Centamin rose after a better-than-expected production update.
Marshalls was little changed after reporting an 8% jump a jump in full-year revenue and expressing confidence in meeting its 2017 expectations.
OneSavings Bank was under the cosh after JC Flowers sold off a 10% stake in the company at 390p per share.
IG and CMC Markets were down after the Financial Conduct Authority raised concerns again about marketing of CFDs to retail investors.
In broker note action, Hikma Pharmaceuticals slumped after a downgrade to ‘underperform’ at Jefferies.
RBS was boosted by an upgrade to ‘overweight’ at Morgan Stanley, Standard Chartered was up after an upgrade to ‘neutral at Redburn and Metro Bank rose after an upgrade to ‘neutral’ at Citi.
