London midday: Stocks in the black as miners gain; earnings in focus
London stocks were still in the black by midday on Thursday, supported by a solid showing in the mining sector as investors turned their attention to earnings.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 6,967.65.
IG market analyst Chris Beauchamp said: "After a positive start to earnings season yesterday equities have continued their push higher, shrugging off a sudden drop in the second half of the US session yesterday."
He said the main event remains earnings season, "with investors hoping that the trend of rebounding corporate income is one that will persist in this reporting period, providing the real foundation for further gains in stock markets".
In equity markets, miners were on the rise, with Antofagasta, BHP and Rio all higher as metals prices pushed up.
B&Q owner Kingfisher was the top gainer on the FTSE 100 after an upgrade to ‘neutral’ at Citi, which said ongoing DIY strength amid extended lockdowns provides good support to current expectations.
Ladbrokes owner Entain gained after it said momentum continued into 2021 as it experienced a strong first quarter of online trading.
Builders’ merchant Travis Perkins rallied after it posted like-for-like sales growth of 17% for the first quarter, excluding Wickes.
Online electricals retailer AO World advanced as it said full-year underlying earnings are set to be in line with market expectations despite Covid-related costs, as revenues surged 62%.
On the downside, Legal & General, Barratt Developments, Standard Life Aberdeen, St James’s Place, Lloyds and Jupiter Fund Management were all weaker as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.
Lost cost airline Wizz Air reversed earlier gains after saying it expects a full-year loss of up to €590m and a "gradual" traffic recovery into late summer.
Outside the FTSE 350, online food delivery company Deliveroo traded lower after it left its full-year guidance unchanged and reported a more than doubling of orders in the first quarter.
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "The company kept its guidance unchanged for full year annual gross transaction value growth of between 30% to 40%, and a gross profit margin of 7.5% to 8%, though the guidance came with a warning that growth might slow as lockdown restrictions are eased.
"This will be a concern across the sector, which makes it doubly important that Deliveroo is able to expand in other areas of its business model, where it has an advantage."
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,967.65 0.40%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,445.25 0.40%
techMARK (TASX) 4,336.38 0.29%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Kingfisher (KGF) 352.10p 3.59%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 554.60p 2.74%
Aveva Group (AVV) 3,898.00p 2.34%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,844.50p 2.33%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,638.00p 2.09%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,180.00p 2.09%
BHP Group (BHP) 2,251.50p 1.97%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 7,894.00p 1.81%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,476.00p 1.77%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,951.00p 1.74%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 278.20p -4.30%
St James's Place (STJ) 1,320.50p -2.80%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 909.80p -2.26%
Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) 285.60p -2.02%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,575.50p -1.72%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,273.60p -1.24%
Evraz (EVR) 617.20p -1.22%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 43.40p -0.98%
Tesco (TSCO) 225.25p -0.95%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 5,206.00p -0.84%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Network International Holdings (NETW) 447.60p 3.68%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 321.40p 3.61%
Future (FUTR) 2,312.00p 3.40%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 309.50p 2.82%
Elementis (ELM) 133.60p 2.77%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 425.80p 2.70%
Investec (INVP) 243.90p 2.65%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 146.00p 2.46%
Helios Towers (HTWS) 170.60p 2.40%
Vectura Group (VEC) 115.00p 2.31%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 230.00p -4.76%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 275.80p -4.30%
OSB Group (OSB) 478.00p -3.28%
SSP Group (SSPG) 308.40p -2.10%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 342.80p -1.95%
Carnival (CCL) 1,699.00p -1.77%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 392.80p -1.55%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 154.75p -1.53%
Centrica (CNA) 55.62p -1.52%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 24.64p -1.28%