London midday: Miners, ITV and Taylor Wimpey weigh on FTSE
London stocks were still in the red by midday on Wednesday, weighed down by weakness in the mining sector and disappointing earnings from ITV and Taylor Wimpey, as the City was covered in a blanket of snow.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.3% to 7,261.60, while the pound was off 0.4% against the dollar at 1.3857 and 0.3% weaker versus 1.1331.
Investors were mulling the latest data releases from China, as both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMIs for February came in lower than expected at 50.3 and 54.5, respectively. This dragged on miners, with shares in Glencore, Rio Tinto, Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Antofagasta all lower.
Joshua Mahony, market analyst at IG, said: "A mix of Powell-fuelled US dollar strength and disappointing Chinese PMI surveys have dragged commodity prices lower, with a host of FTSE 100 miners falling sharply in response to the continued deterioration in industrial metals such as copper, and zinc. On a day that will be heavily reliant upon big data, the overnight fall in Chinese manufacturing and services PMI surveys did little to help sentiment, adding to the bearish bias driven by Powell’s hawkish appearance yesterday."
The latest GfK survey was also in focus, showing consumer confidence in the UK fell in February, with the long-running index down one point to -10 from January, as expected.
"Ongoing concerns about sluggish household income, rising prices paid by consumers in the shops, and the prospect of inflation-busting council tax and interest rate hikes has dented confidence after last month’s surprising rally," said GfK's Joe Staton. "The two-year trend of negative sentiment - the overall index score has bounced between zero and -13 since February 2016 - proves consumers feel pessimistic about the state of household finances and the wider UK economy."
The retail sector was in in the spotlight as Toys R Us and Maplin went into administration, putting around 5,500 jobs at risk.
Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital, attributed the failure of Toys R Us to a "systemic failure to move with the changes in the retail sector". He also said the "Amazon effect" was all too clear to see, adding that there are implications for competitors and the retail market in general.
Outside of the main index, Mothercare shares tumbled, while Debenhams and Marks & Spencer were also trading lower.
Sainsbury’s, which probably stands to gain most from the Toys R Us demise through Argos, was trading up, while Tesco, another likely gainer, also rose. Meanwhile, Dixons Carphone was higher on the back of Maplin’s collapse.
Elsewhere, ITV slumped as the broadcaster said profits fell last year amid a squeeze on advertising sales, although the dividend was lifted 10% as a 'strategic refresh' got underway under new chief executive Carolyn McCall.
Taylor Wimpey was in the red as it posted a drop in full-year pre-tax profit, while engineer Weir slipped even as it reported a 47% rise in full-year pre-tax profits.
Builders merchant Travis Perkins suffered heavy losses as it said adjusted full-year pre-tax profit dropped 10%, while while FTSE 250 hedge fund Man Group lost ground even as it reported a rise in full-year funds under management amid record net inflows
Premier Inn and Costa owner Whitbread slipped as it announced the acquisition of a portfolio of 19 hotels in Germany from Foremost Hospitality Group for an undisclosed sum.
Insurer Admiral rallied after posting a 43% jump in full-year pre-tax profit and declaring a special dividend amid record customer numbers.
Business information group Informa rose as it said revenue in the 12 months to the end of December grew 30.7% to £1.76bn and UBM gained as its full-year numbers came in in line with expectations.
Wealth manager St James’s Place advanced as it posted a 36% increase in full-year operating profit..
In broker note action, James Fisher was lifted by an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Canaccord and British American Tobacco was weaker after a downgrade to ‘neutral’ at Citi.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,261.60 -0.29%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,775.35 -0.51%
techMARK (TASX) 3,329.69 -0.02%
FTSE 100 - Risers
St James's Place (STJ) 1,170.00p 3.95%
Tesco (TSCO) 211.30p 2.03%
WPP (WPP) 1,388.50p 1.06%
Barclays (BARC) 214.18p 1.03%
Informa (INF) 693.00p 1.02%
BAE Systems (BA.) 578.40p 1.01%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 609.20p 0.96%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 259.90p 0.85%
GKN (GKN) 434.00p 0.77%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,623.00p 0.73%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
ITV (ITV) 162.00p -6.47%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,874.50p -2.93%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,236.07p -2.90%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,935.50p -2.77%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 816.13p -2.73%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,797.00p -2.44%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,489.00p -2.36%
Glencore (GLEN) 387.25p -2.33%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 885.40p -2.25%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 189.90p -1.99%
FTSE 250 - Risers
AA (AA.) 79.62p 8.36%
Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 1,520.00p 7.80%
Provident Financial (PFG) 1,024.00p 2.20%
Ultra Electronics Holdings (ULE) 1,547.93p 1.84%
Booker Group (BOK) 227.40p 1.74%
Countryside Properties (CSP) 320.80p 1.71%
UBM (UBM) 920.00p 1.66%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 461.00p 1.63%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 268.00p 1.52%
Elementis (ELM) 285.00p 1.50%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,332.48p -7.14%
Greggs (GRG) 1,219.00p -5.65%
Sirius Minerals (SXX) 27.02p -5.19%
Grafton Group Units (GFTU) 760.50p -4.70%
Genus (GNS) 2,252.00p -3.60%
Vectura Group (VEC) 73.50p -3.42%
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 195.46p -3.14%
Man Group (EMG) 175.70p -2.95%
Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 442.00p -2.62%
Rightmove (RMV) 4,304.00p -2.51%