London midday: Stocks pare losses as pound slips; UK Q3 GDP in focus

London stocks had pared losses a little by midday on Thursday as the pound slipped, with the latest readings on retail sales and UK GDP in focus.

The FTSE 100 was 0.2% lower at 7,406.28, while the pound was down 0.3% against the euro at 1.1239 and 0.1% lower versus the dollar at 1.3316.

Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics confirmed that Britain was the slowest growing G7 economy this year. A second estimate of UK GDP showed the economy grew 0.4% in the third quarter compared to the second, as was indicated in the initial reading.

Compared to the third quarter last year, ONS also confirmed GDP was 1.5% higher, again as stated in its initial estimate.

The ONS report came a day after the Chancellor's Budget statement included a newly downgraded forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility for GDP to grow 1.5% in 2017 and fall to 1.4% in 2018.

Pantheon Macroeconomics said: "Looking ahead, we continue to expect quarter-on-quarter GDP growth to fade to 0.2% in Q4, as households’ spending slows again. The squeeze on real wages still has further to run, while the MPC’s rate hike will reduce disposable income and encourage households to save more.

"We hold out little hope for a revival in net trade or investment in the near-term, given the still-huge uncertainty about the UK trade ties with the rest of the world."

On a cheerier note, the Confederation of British Industry's quarterly distributive trades survey found that 39% of respondents reported a rise in sales volumes in November compared to a year ago, while 13% said they were down, giving a balance of +26%. This compares to -36% in October and is well ahead of analysts' expectations of +5%.

However, prices pressures were evident, with average selling prices rising at their fastest pace since May 1991 in the year to November.

In corporate news, Centrica tanked as it warned annual profit will be lower than market expectations due to poor performance at its business energy supply division.

Pub group Mitchells & Butlers tumbled after it reported a drop in full-year profit as it highlighted inflationary cost headwinds and cancelled its interim dividend.

GlaxoSmithKline slipped after saying that it and partner Innoviva have filed a supplemental New Drug Application with the US Food and Drug Administration for the use of Trelegy Ellipta (fluticasone furoate/umeclidinium/vilanterol) for an expanded indication.

Cineworld fell despite reporting a 10.6% jump in revenue for the period from 1 January to 19 November.

SIG slumped after Canaccord Genuity cut the stock to 'hold', while National Grid, Vodafone, Carnival, TalkTalk, and Vedanta Resources were all weaker as their stock went ex-dividend.

On the upside, Severn Trent nudged up as it lifted its forecast for regulatory bonuses after a strong first half of the year, where sales increased 3.7%, underlying earnings per share by 7.7% and dividend by 6.2% to 34.63p.

Residential landlord Grainger edged higher after exchanging contracts with Blackswan Property to forward-fund and acquire a private rented sector build-to-rent development at Gilder's Yard in Birmingham.

Actuator manufacturer Rotork advanced as it said group order intake in the third quarter increased 12%, while revenue was up 5.1%, while Paragon Banking Group was in the black after posting a rise in full-year profit thanks to growth across its business lines.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,406.28 -0.17%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,988.31 -0.13%
techMARK (TASX) 3,481.22 0.01%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Sage Group (SGE) 807.44p 3.25%
ITV (ITV) 153.00p 2.82%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,728.00p 1.94%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,374.00p 1.78%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 620.50p 1.72%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 196.44p 1.62%
Ferguson (FERG) 5,350.00p 1.23%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,923.00p 1.21%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,653.00p 1.11%
CRH (CRH) 2,665.00p 1.02%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Centrica (CNA) 137.20p -15.98%
National Grid (NG.) 862.00p -3.29%
SSE (SSE) 1,324.50p -3.11%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 687.92p -2.49%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,084.00p -1.81%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 212.10p -1.71%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 225.55p -1.40%
3i Group (III) 910.50p -0.98%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,336.00p -0.96%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 228.40p -0.87%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Dignity (DTY) 1,876.00p 3.88%
Ibstock (IBST) 241.60p 3.47%
Equiniti Group (EQN) 299.50p 3.28%
Rotork (ROR) 266.80p 2.42%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 6,065.00p 2.28%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 737.00p 2.08%
Paragon Banking Group (PAG) 469.50p 1.87%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 825.50p 1.79%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 2,184.92p 1.58%
Bellway (BWY) 3,533.00p 1.52%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 239.20p -7.29%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 149.80p -4.46%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,222.00p -2.94%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 218.20p -2.89%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 284.30p -2.64%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 777.00p -2.63%
AA (AA.) 155.00p -2.33%
3i Infrastructure (3IN) 198.13p -2.16%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 241.20p -2.15%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 193.70p -2.02%