London midday: Stocks edge higher but Whitbread slumps on outlook

London stocks had edged higher by midday as investors sifted through corporate news, with trading a little subdued compared with the strong gains of the previous session.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.3% to 7,283.40, while the pound was up 0.2% against the dollar at $1.2818.

On Monday, stocks in London and Europe were buoyed by a win for centrist Emmanuel Macro in the first round of the French presidential elections.

IG analyst Chris Beauchamp said: "Markets have continued their push higher from yesterday, although at a much more relaxed pace. The immediate impact of Macron’s first-round success is wearing off, but the relief is still palpable among investors."

On the data front, the UK budget deficit met the Chancellor's much reduced target but public sector borrowing rose more than expected in March and was forecast to rise in the coming year.

The Office for National Statistics revealed that public sector net borrowing (PSNB) reached £5.1bn in March which was much bigger than the consensus expectation of £3.1bn and an increase of £800m on the £4.3bn borrowing from a year earlier.

Total PSNB, including state interventions in banks, stood at £4.4bn, more than double the £1.5bn consensus forecast and four times the £1.1bn in March last year.

Public sector net debt, the UK's total debt mountain, grew to £1.73trn, equivalent to 86.6% of gross domestic product and up £123.5bn or 3.0 percentage points as a ratio of GDP over the last year.

However the total 2016/17 budget deficit of £52bn did narrow to 2.6% of gross domestic product, versus 3.8% for the previous fiscal year, and so was fairly close to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March forecast of £51.7bn.

Public finances benefited from the resilience of the economy and a strong labour market which lifted tax receipts, with corporation tax receipts reaching a record high of £55.7bn.

In corporate news, wealth manager St James's Place racked up solid gains after saying first-quarter gross inflows rose 32% to £3.23bn with net inflows up to £1.99bn from £1.36bn. Group funds under management rose to £79.84bn from £62.02bn.

Specialty chemicals group Elementis advanced after saying it was on track to grow full year operating profit across its three segments after a positive first quarter of 2017.

Premier Oil gushed higher after it secured lock-in arrangements with more than 75% of the holders of its $245m convertible bonds, meaning it has the majority required to proceed with its refinancing.

Whitbread shares slumped after the Premier Inn and Costa owner beat profit forecasts for the year and reported a good start to 2017, but warned of a tougher consumer environment than last year, while retail bank Virgin Money slipped despite reaffirming its full-year guidance and reporting a solid first quarter.

Tullow Oil fell after saying it has received acceptances for around 95.3% of the new shares offered in its $750m rights issue, which was announced back on 17 March.

Amec Foster Wheeler was also on the back foot as it posted a bigger-than-expected full-year pre-tax loss, while Carpetright tumbled after saying it expects underlying pre-tax profit for the year to be towards the lower end of the current range of market expectations of £13.9m to £16.2m.

Weir Group and Carillion were boosted by upgrades to 'overweight' at JP Morgan Cazenove, while Ascential got a lift after Berenberg started the stock at 'buy'.

Heavily-weighted mining stocks were hit after Goldman Sachs cut its ratings on Anglo American, Antofagasta and BHP Billiton, and removed Vedanta Resources from its Conviction List.

Vectura fell back following a downgrade to 'underperform' at RBC Capital Markets.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,283.40 0.26%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,633.21 0.15%
techMARK (TASX) 3,481.29 0.52%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,884.00p 2.28%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,654.00p 1.78%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 253.30p 1.60%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,626.50p 1.37%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,723.50p 1.31%
Hammerson (HMSO) 602.50p 1.26%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 234.30p 1.25%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 348.30p 1.22%
Sage Group (SGE) 663.50p 1.22%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,124.00p 1.17%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Whitbread (WTB) 4,034.00p -6.34%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,111.00p -1.59%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,865.00p -1.51%
Kingfisher (KGF) 332.50p -1.39%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,846.00p -1.15%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 562.50p -1.14%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 737.00p -1.01%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 200.40p -0.79%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 834.00p -0.77%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,206.50p -0.66%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Elementis (ELM) 316.00p 5.90%
Ascential (ASCL) 347.50p 5.05%
Carillion (CLLN) 223.40p 3.28%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,065.00p 3.10%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 848.00p 2.42%
IP Group (IPO) 139.50p 2.20%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 1,663.00p 2.15%
Workspace Group (WKP) 848.50p 2.11%
Rotork (ROR) 257.20p 2.06%
Hunting (HTG) 579.00p 1.67%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Cobham (COB) 131.90p -2.51%
Vectura Group (VEC) 139.20p -2.38%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 151.40p -2.20%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 610.50p -2.16%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,247.00p -1.70%
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 450.30p -1.44%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 587.00p -1.34%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 699.50p -1.27%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 6,660.00p -1.26%
Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG) 294.90p -1.24%