London close: Stocks higher on UK budget

Shares closed higher on Wednesday as investors sifted through corporate releases as well as the Autumn Budget.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.10% by the close to 7,419.02, while the pound was climbing 0.01% against the euro at 1.1279 and 0.42% versus the dollar at 1.3295.

European markets were mixed on Wednesday with the DAX down 1.16% to 13,015.04, the CAC 40 0.25% lower at 5,352.76 and the IBEX 35 bucking the trend to close 0.21% higher at 10,013.90.

The key points of the Chancellor's Autumn budget included: no stamp duty payable for first time buyers of properties worth up to £300,000, a 'freeze' on alcohol and fuel duties and an increase in the higher tax rate threshold to £46,350.

For lower income households, the National Living Wage was due to rise in April 2018 by 4.4% from £7.50 per hour to £7.83.

On the employment front, another 600,000 people were forecast to be in work by 2022.

Something for everyone in the budget, but on the downside the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) downgraded the UK growth outlook for 2017 from 2% to 1.5% and taht for 2018 from 1.6% to 1.4%.

Andrew Goodwin at Oxford Economics said: "The Budget was framed by large revisions to the OBR’s growth and borrowing forecasts. Though we agree that growth will remain soft by historical standards, we suspect that the OBR’s new projections will prove to be too gloomy, so even the reduced headroom against the fiscal rules should prove to be plenty.

"In terms of measures, the Chancellor bucked the traditional approach for the first Budget of a new Parliament by announcing a net loosening of fiscal policy. Housing was the focus of policy attention, although a headline cut in stamp duty for first-time buyers may not have the hoped-for effect."

Broker commentary lent a helping hand in London, with Kingfisher and Reckitt Benckiser racking up healthy gains after upgrades from Jefferies and JPMorgan, respectively, while EasyJet flew higher after Investec bumped the stock up to 'buy'.

Informa and Qinetiq were also in the black after upgrades from Kepler Cheuvreux and Berenberg.

Meanwhile, Sage reversed earlier losses to trade higher after saying it kept revenue growth and margins above its annual target and announcing that the launch of its Business Cloud software suite would enable it to "accelerate momentum" in 2018.

GlaxoSmithKline ticked lower after saying that its ViiV Healthcare joint venture has been given approval for its Juluca treatment by the US Food and Drug Administration -- the first complete HIV treatment in the US to include only two drugs.

Housebuilder and regeneration partner Countryside Properties rallied after it posted a rise in annual operating profit as revenue and completions grew amid strong demand.

Upper Crust owner SSP surged after it reported a rise in full-year profit and announced a special dividend of around £100m.

On the downside, Thomas Cook tanked after the travel company released its full-year results, which showed margins declined due to a more competitive market in holidays to Spain. FTSE 100 peer TUI was also in the red.

Water and waste management company United Utilities climbed after saying profit rose 10% in the first half as it increased revenue and cut costs, though management again raised concerns about looming new regulatory controls.

Business information and events group Euromoney dropped after posting a rise in annual profit and announcing the sale of its stake in Dealogic.

Motorway barrier maker Hill & Smith was in reverse gear despite reporting trading in the period from 1 July to the end of October was in line with its expectations, but that some road schemes had been pushed back into next year.

Nostrum Oil & Gas slumped after Panmure Gordon cut the stock to 'hold'.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,419.02 0.10%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,013.86 0.35%
techMARK (TASX) 3,480.76 0.33%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Kingfisher (KGF) 322.60p 4.57%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,349.00p 4.33%
Shire Plc (SHP) 3,752.00p 3.30%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 744.10p 2.92%
Tesco (TSCO) 194.40p 2.86%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 215.80p 2.76%
Old Mutual (OML) 195.60p 2.41%
Centrica (CNA) 163.30p 1.94%
SSE (SSE) 1,367.00p 1.86%
St James's Place (STJ) 1,170.00p 1.74%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Barratt Developments (BDEV) 610.00p -3.71%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,652.00p -2.61%
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 8,540.00p -2.29%
Prudential (PRU) 1,877.00p -1.98%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,624.00p -1.91%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,900.00p -1.86%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 193.30p -1.83%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,736.00p -1.42%
Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) 423.60p -1.40%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 269.50p -1.35%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Acacia Mining (ACA) 198.00p 8.63%
SSP Group (SSPG) 658.00p 8.40%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 218.00p 8.19%
Ultra Electronics Holdings (ULE) 1,195.00p 4.64%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 173.40p 4.58%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 812.50p 4.17%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 264.90p 4.05%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,259.00p 3.79%
Polymetal International (POLY) 926.50p 3.23%
Virgin Money Holdings (UK) (VM.) 277.00p 3.19%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 111.50p -8.38%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 340.70p -5.39%
BTG (BTG) 732.00p -5.06%
McCarthy & Stone (MCS) 161.20p -4.05%
Bellway (BWY) 3,480.00p -2.47%
SIG (SHI) 165.00p -2.42%
Victrex plc (VCT) 2,542.00p -2.34%
Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 1,108.94p -2.12%
Nex Group (NXG) 570.00p -2.06%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,126.00p -1.90%