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London open: FTSE nudges up as WPP, Reckitt gain
London stocks nudged up in early trade on Wednesday, helped along by well-received results from the likes of WPP and Reckitt, but gains were muted as caution crept in ahead of next week’s Budget and amid uncertainty over the US election.
At 0825 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 8,316.45.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Caution is reigning on financial markets amid growing expectations that borrowing costs might come down slower in the US, the world’s largest economy, while political uncertainty and the threat of conflict spreading in the Middle East is also keeping investors a little more wary.
“The FTSE 100 has opened flat as speculation continues to swirl about the tax changes coming in the UK Budget. The result of the US Presidential election still looks to be on a knife-edge which will be playing on minds.”
In equity markets, advertising giant WPP rallied after saying it returned to growth in the third quarter, as it reiterated its outlook for the year. Third-quarter like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs rose 0.5%, with reported revenue up 1.4% and LFL revenue up 4.1%.
Reckitt Benckiser was also in the black as the consumer goods giant’s third-quarter like-for-like net sales growth beat estimates.
Lloyds gained as it reported a slight decline in statutory profits over the third quarter but still managed to beat consensus forecasts, as the banking group reiterated guidance for the full year. Statutory profit before tax totalled £1.82bn in the three months to 30 September, down 2% on last year but well ahead of the £1.6bn expected by analysts.
Barratt Redrow advanced as it highlighted “more stable” market conditions, said integration of the two businesses had begun “at pace” and that it expects to deliver cost synergies of at least £90m.
Hochschild shone as the precious metals miner maintained its full-year production guidance after reporting its strongest third quarter in nearly five years.
Ibstock was boosted by an upgrade to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ at Jefferies.
Top 10 FTSE 100 Risers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Bp 8%pf | +3.82% | +5.50 | 149.50 |
| 2 |  |
Wpp Plc | +3.54% | +27.40 | 801.00 |
| 3 |  |
Barratt Redrow Plc | +3.17% | +15.00 | 488.40 |
| 4 |  |
Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc | +3.00% | +143.00 | 4,906.00 |
| 5 |  |
Rentokil Initial Plc | +2.15% | +8.00 | 380.00 |
| 6 |  |
Banco Santander S.a. | +1.60% | +6.00 | 381.50 |
| 7 |  |
Wise Plc | +1.59% | +11.50 | 733.00 |
| 8 |  |
Jd Sports Fashion Plc | +1.57% | +2.10 | 136.20 |
| 9 |  |
Fresnillo Plc | +1.24% | +9.50 | 778.50 |
| 10 |  |
Smurfit Westrock Plc | +1.00% | +34.00 | 3,451.00 |
Top 10 FTSE 100 Fallers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Woodside Energy Group Ltd | -2.52% | -32.00 | 1,240.00 |
| 2 |  |
Intermediate Capital Group Plc | -1.98% | -42.00 | 2,080.00 |
| 3 |  |
3i Group Plc | -1.63% | -55.00 | 3,328.00 |
| 4 |  |
Bhp Group Limited | -1.51% | -33.00 | 2,153.00 |
| 5 |  |
Barclays Plc | -1.38% | -3.35 | 238.85 |
| 6 |  |
Glencore Plc | -1.37% | -5.60 | 402.30 |
| 7 |  |
Antofagasta Plc | -1.34% | -24.50 | 1,805.00 |
| 8 |  |
Admiral Group Plc | -1.32% | -35.00 | 2,610.00 |
| 9 |  |
Anglo American Plc | -1.30% | -31.00 | 2,348.50 |
| 10 |  |
Rio Tinto Plc | -1.01% | -50.50 | 4,950.50 |
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Water companies, Sellafield, EY
Hundreds of millions of pounds of local transport funding in England could be cut in next week’s spending review despite having been agreed with regional mayors, putting bus, tube and tram improvements at risk. The mayors, most of whom are Labour, are engaged in a last-minute lobbying campaign to stop the Treasury raiding their transport budgets as Rachel Reeves looks for immediate savings. – Guardian
Water companies in England could be banned from making a profit under plans for a complete overhaul of the system. The idea is one of the options being considered by a new commission set up by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) amid public fury over the way firms have prioritised profit over the environment. – Guardian
The former boss of fashion giant Abercrombie & Fitch and his British partner have been arrested and face sex trafficking charges. Ex-chief executive Mike Jeffries, his partner Matthew Smith and a third man, Jim Jacobson, were arrested on Tuesday morning in Brooklyn, New York. The trio were arrested following allegations that they sexually abused young men at parties in the United States and other countries. – Telegraph
The cost of managing Britain’s most hazardous nuclear waste has risen by almost a fifth to £136 billion due to a failure to set a realistic budget, the government’s spending watchdog has concluded. Sellafield, which is home to about 85 per cent of the UK’s nuclear waste and stores the most hazardous waste, is not delivering value for money as large projects are running behind schedule and over budget, according to the National Audit Office’s latest assessment. – The Times
Dozens of staff at EY, the Big Four professional services firm, have been branded cheats by the firm and sacked for streaming more than one training video at a time to meet quotas. EY confirmed that some of its employees in the US were fired last week for trying to save time by watching multiple online training courses at one time. – The Times
