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London open: Stocks muted after Friday’s highs; Kingfisher slumps
London stocks were muted in early trade on Monday, having closed at their highest level in more than a year on Friday.
At 0825 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up just 0.1% at 7,934.64.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The FTSE 100 is starting the week within sight of record highs, but is lacking fresh momentum in early trade. Optimism has been surging about the prospects for interest rate cuts and brighter economic horizons ahead, despite some uncertainty lingering about stubborn inflation in the US.
“Although stocks on Wall Street are hanging near record levels, they slipped on Friday, but the feel-good factor remains relatively strong for London-listed companies. Over the past week, the FTSE 100 has had a power surge which doesn’t look set to reverse significantly. Investors have been eyeing up lower borrowing costs from the summer, amid an easing of inflationary pressures. The revision by global ratings agency Fitch about the sovereign credit outlook is another tailwind for the UK, with the outlook now ‘stable’ rather than ‘negative, with the assessment that economic policy risks have eased.”
In equity markets, B&Q owner Kingfisher lost ground after saying it expects lower annual profits in the current year as the home improvement market continued to lag behind demand for housing.
The company, which also owns the Brico depot chain in France, said it expects adjusted pre-tax profit of £490m to £550m compared with the £568m it reported for last year, down 25% on 2022/23.
Direct Line tumbled as it insisted it was confident in its standalone prospects after Belgium’s Ageas said it would not be making an offer for the insurer following two failed attempts at engaging with the board.
National Express owner Mobico was under the cosh as it issued a profit warning and further delayed its annual results after an unexpected rebasing of German indices it uses to calculate energy costs.
Adjusted earnings before interest and tax are now expected to be at the upper end of a £160m to £175m range, compared with previous guidance of £175m – £185m.
On the upside, Ferrexpo shot higher as it said operations at its Ukrainian subsidiary, FPM, have been performing well and there has been no disruption to the production and sale of its products. It said production volumes for the month of February were the highest since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
Top 10 FTSE 100 Risers
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| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
3i Group Plc | +1.67% | +46.00 | 2,807.00 |
| 2 |  |
Bp Plc | +1.13% | +5.65 | 504.50 |
| 3 |  |
Sage Group Plc | +1.07% | +13.50 | 1,275.00 |
| 4 |  |
Carnival Plc | +1.06% | +13.00 | 1,237.50 |
| 5 |  |
Dcc Plc | +0.77% | +44.00 | 5,728.00 |
| 6 |  |
Rio Tinto Plc | +0.60% | +30.00 | 5,027.00 |
| 7 |  |
Anglo American Plc | +0.57% | +11.00 | 1,940.40 |
| 8 |  |
Experian Plc | +0.52% | +18.00 | 3,504.00 |
| 9 |  |
Bae Systems Plc | +0.51% | +7.00 | 1,370.50 |
| 10 |  |
Segro Plc | +0.47% | +4.20 | 902.20 |
Top 10 FTSE 100 Fallers
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| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Direct Line Insurance Group Plc | -12.49% | -26.10 | 182.90 |
| 2 |  |
Kingfisher Plc | -2.10% | -4.90 | 228.70 |
| 3 |  |
Ocado Group Plc | -1.88% | -8.80 | 459.50 |
| 4 |  |
Spirax-sarco Engineering Plc | -1.60% | -170.00 | 10,425.00 |
| 5 |  |
International Consolidated Airlines Group S.a. | -1.22% | -2.00 | 162.45 |
| 6 |  |
British Land Company Plc | -1.12% | -4.40 | 389.50 |
| 7 |  |
Berkeley Group Holdings (the) Plc | -1.05% | -50.00 | 4,723.00 |
| 8 |  |
Vodafone Group Plc | -1.04% | -0.71 | 67.72 |
| 9 |  |
Persimmon Plc | -0.97% | -13.00 | 1,323.00 |
| 10 |  |
Croda International Plc | -0.94% | -48.00 | 5,044.00 |
Monday newspaper round-up: Wind farms, interest rates, FCA
More than 20 leading social scientists have warned the UK’s biggest investment companies and pension funds that allowing US-style executive pay packages could “create a significant risk of higher inequality” and “much worse lower levels of happiness, health and wellbeing across society”. The academics said they had decided to speak out as an increasing number of British business leaders and the London Stock Exchange have argued for much higher pay awards to improve the UK’s competitiveness. – Guardian
The UK’s “expensive, cramped and ageing” housing stock fares poorly compared with other advanced countries, analysis by a thinktank suggests. Households are paying more than other countries – but getting less in return, the Resolution Foundation said. – Guardian
Wind farm owners are being investigated by the energy watchdog for alleged market manipulation after they were accused of overcharging consumers by £100m. Ofgem is to examine claims that renewable energy companies artificially inflated compensation payments given to them for switching off their turbines on windy days when the grid did not need extra capacity. – Telegraph
The Bank of England will slash interest rates to 3pc by the end of next year in a boost for millions of mortgage borrowers as inflation drops sharply, senior economists at KPMG have said. Inflation is set to fall below the Bank’s 2pc target in the coming months as energy bills tumble. – Telegraph
The Financial Conduct Authority hired a chief internal auditor who does not have audit qualifications after advertising the role for only five working days, leading to claims that the recruitment process had been rigged in favour of an internal candidate. The appointment of Robin Jones, who has spent more than two decades working at the City regulator, has been greeted with surprise and anger in the internal audit profession. – The Times
The owner of Ryman and Robert Dyas has joined other British retailers in calling for a clampdown on a tax loophole exploited by Chinese retail giants such as Temu and Shein. Theo Paphitis, who also owns the lingerie seller Boux Avenue, said there was a “big slug” of companies avoiding customs bills in the UK by shipping individual orders directly from countries such as China. “Worse than that, the companies benefiting from it are not British companies,” the former Dragons’ Den TV show panellist said. “The government is not plugging loopholes. It’s becoming absolutely clear that the emperor has no clothes on.” – The Times
