London midday: Stocks edge lower but Avast bucks trend

London stocks had edged lower by midday on Monday as investors mulled the latest data out of China and looked ahead to the latest UK inflation reading later in the week.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.2% at 7,333.94.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "The FTSE 100 made a tepid start to the week on Monday despite some positive economic news from China.

"A lot of the noises from the world’s second largest economy have been negative of late so the better-than-expected data on industrial output and retail sales understandably earned some applause from Asian markets.

"The next big economic release comes on Wednesday in the form of UK inflation figures which could reignite investors’ concerns about rising prices."

In equity markets, Avast was the top gainer on the FTSE 100 after NortonLifeLock satisfied the US antitrust condition for the acquisition of the cybersecurity firm.

Government outsourcer Serco rallied as it lifted profits guidance after better-than-expected trading in Australia and the UK from Covid-related work.

Shell was a high riser after the oil giant announced plans to abandon its dual share structure and move its tax residence to the UK from the Netherlands.

CMC Markets surged after the online financial trading group confirmed it was looking at a possible separation of its leveraged and non-leveraged divisions in order to unlock shareholder value. The shares were also underpinned by an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Jefferies.

Cineworld jumped after it said box office and concession revenues in October were at 90% of pre-Covid levels as "an excellent slate of films" drove a recovery.

Ascential rose after announcing the acquisition of WhyteSpyder, an e-commerce software and digital merchandising business which helps brands succeed on Walmart's digital marketplace, for an undisclosed sum. The company also said both editions of its Money20/20 event rebounded strongly this year."

Admiral was lifted by an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Berenberg.

On the downside, IT provider Kainos slumped even as it reported a jump in first-half profit and revenue amid "robust" market demand.

B&M European Value slid after a downgrade to ‘sell’ at Goldman Sachs, while easyJet flew lower after a downgrade to ‘reduce’ at Kepler Cheuvreux. Auto Trader fell after a downgrade to ‘add’ at Peel Hunt.

Direct Line was knocked lower by a downgrade to ‘hold’ by Berenberg.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,333.94 -0.19%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,596.87 0.17%
techMARK (TASX) 4,622.73 0.19%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Avast (AVST) 599.00p 7.19%
Royal Mail (RMG) 447.10p 3.09%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 9,030.00p 2.60%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 471.20p 2.08%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,966.50p 1.55%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,665.60p 1.49%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,973.00p 1.47%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 7,030.00p 1.33%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,582.50p 1.22%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 166.24p 1.17%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 575.60p -3.97%
Darktrace (DARK) 566.00p -2.75%
Evraz (EVR) 604.20p -2.55%
Glencore (GLEN) 359.15p -2.38%
St James's Place (STJ) 1,570.50p -2.27%
Aveva Group (AVV) 3,286.00p -2.17%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,456.00p -2.15%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 6,332.00p -1.83%
BHP Group (BHP) 1,925.40p -1.81%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,841.00p -1.73%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Cineworld Group (CINE) 69.28p 10.18%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 277.50p 7.14%
AO World (AO.) 135.70p 5.03%
Serco Group (SRP) 136.60p 4.43%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 320.00p 3.76%
Ascential (ASCL) 435.00p 3.57%
Computacenter (CCC) 2,866.00p 2.95%
Capita (CPI) 47.79p 2.64%
Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 372.00p 2.62%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,672.50p 2.42%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Kainos Group (KNOS) 1,888.00p -7.99%
Discoverie Group (DSCV) 983.00p -3.63%
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 368.00p -3.56%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 9,415.00p -2.54%
Reach (RCH) 326.00p -2.10%
Genus (GNS) 5,485.00p -1.97%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 281.00p -1.95%
Auction Technology Group (ATG) 1,324.00p -1.78%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,797.00p -1.70%
JTC (JTC) 872.00p -1.69%