London midday: UK stocks flat amid central-bank speculation

UK stocks were broadly flat on Wednesday morning after jumping to a one-week high the previous session, as investors reacted to ongoing central-bank speculation and digested mixed corporate earnings.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.05% at 6,369 by midday, with results from the likes of British American Tobacco and BHP Billiton underwhelming investors, while Glaxosmithkline impressed.

Minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC) October meeting released at 09:30 revealed that seven of the nine committee members voted to keep interest rates at the record-low level of 0.5%, while two again called for a rate hike. The minutes placed considerable emphasis on the lack of inflationary pressures and, subsequently, the risks inherent in a premature tightening of monetary policy.

Economist Howard Archer from IHS Global Insight said the minutes "do little to dilute view that interest rates are now unlikely to rise before mid-2015".

The FTSE 100 jumped 1.7% to a one-week closing high of 6,372 on Tuesday on reports that the European Central Bank (ECB) is considering buying corporate bonds on the secondary market in a bid to boost Eurozone growth. However, Belgian daily De Tijd reported that ECB governing council member Luc Coene said Frankfurt has no concrete plans to buy corporate bonds.

Economic expansion in China was also still in focus after data showed a slowdown to 7.3%, albeit not as bad as feared, in the third quarter. China's premier Li Keqiang was reported as saying overnight that growth is still in a "reasonable range".

BAT provides a drag, BHP slips

British American Tobacco was among the worst performers after reporting that revenue growth slowed in the third quarter as depressed consumer income met large tax-driven price rises.

The share price of BHP Billiton declined after the mining giant said that production growth remained steady at 9% in the first quarter. Analysts at Morgan Stanley said that this was "only just enough", as it raised concerns about the firm hitting its copper targets for the full year.

In contrast, results out at noon from Glaxosmithkline impressed with the stock surging after the pharmaceutical giant said core operating profit fell by just 6% to £1.89bn, compared with the £1.71bn forecast.

Online gambling group Playtech surged after saying it was confident of beating market expectations for the full year, after a powerful performance in the third quarter continued into the fourth.

Home-credit business International Personal Finance saw shares jump after a slowdown in profit growth in the third quarter matched analysts' expectations as a result of higher spending and currency movements. Panmure Gordon also helped the stock by upgrading its rating from 'sell' to 'buy'.

A strong third-quarter performance from Laird followed major customer Apple's hugely successful iPhone 6 launch, accelerating revenue growth for the electronic components group and causing shares to rise on Wednesday.

Supergroup was under pressure after the fashion retailer announced that the former chief executive of the troubled Co-operative Group would become its new boss, replacing founder Julian Dunkerton.

Insurance stocks were performing well across London with Direct Line, Admiral, Old Mutual and Esure putting in decent gains.

Supermarkets were out of favour after comments from the boss of rival grocer Waitrose, who claimed that the Big Four were running shops that are 20 years out of date. J Sainsbury, Tesco and Wm Morrison were all lower by midday.

Market Movers
techMARK 2,652.56 +0.39%
FTSE 100 6,368.98 -0.05%
FTSE 250 15,131.03 +0.71%

FTSE 100 - Risers
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 279.10p +2.95%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 637.50p +2.66%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,270.00p +2.17%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 373.90p +1.99%
Compass Group (CPG) 981.00p +1.98%
Whitbread (WTB) 4,280.00p +1.90%
Old Mutual (OML) 181.30p +1.85%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,073.00p +1.61%
TUI Travel (TT.) 371.40p +1.56%
Royal Mail (RMG) 446.60p +1.50%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,339.50p -3.66%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 158.00p -2.53%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 245.50p -1.80%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,219.00p -1.40%
Tesco (TSCO) 183.40p -1.34%
Diageo (DGE) 1,735.00p -1.14%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,107.00p -1.05%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 4,967.00p -0.86%
GKN (GKN) 310.40p -0.83%
Centrica (CNA) 292.40p -0.71%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Playtech (PTEC) 749.50p +6.77%
esure Group (ESUR) 236.40p +6.53%
International Personal Finance (IPF) 485.00p +6.13%
Foxtons Group (FOXT) 206.80p +4.97%
Laird (LRD) 309.10p +4.89%
Croda International (CRDA) 2,180.00p +4.16%
Zoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 209.30p +4.13%
Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 273.90p +3.55%
Homeserve (HSV) 340.50p +3.50%
Pace (PIC) 318.30p +3.48%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Supergroup (SGP) 990.00p -3.79%
African Barrick Gold (ABG) 193.30p -2.57%
Balfour Beatty (BBY) 162.00p -2.23%
Poundland Group (PLND) 315.00p -2.17%
Senior (SNR) 269.60p -2.11%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 432.00p -1.59%
AO World (AO.) 175.10p -1.35%
COLT Group SA (COLT) 123.80p -1.35%
Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 305.30p -1.20%
Brit (BRIT) 237.20p -1.17%