London midday: Stocks slip into the red as pound steadies

London stocks slipped into the red by midday as investors continued to assess the implications of Britain triggering divorce proceedings with the European Union.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.2% to 7,360.30, while the pound was flat at $1.2446.

Spreadex’s Connor Campbell said the slight reversal from the UK index likely stemmed from the emergence of some very mild growth from the pound.

In corporate news, tobacco company Imperial Brands pushed up after saying it remained on target to hit first-half targets, with both revenues and earnings set to be up strongly at the reported level thanks to the weak pound.

Diploma advanced as it said it expected group first half revenues to be around 20% ahead of the comparable period, boosted by the impact of the “substantial depreciation” in UK sterling.

Online electrical goods retailer AO World reversed earlier losses to trade higher after saying it raised £50m in a share placing and that it expects full-year revenue to be up 17%.

Supermarket retailer Morrison was a high riser after a double upgrade to ‘buy’ by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, while equipment rental firm Ashtead was boosted as Liberum initiated coverage of the stock at ‘buy’.

However, Marks & Spencer was under pressure after a downgrade by UBS.

Petra Diamonds rallied as it announced the launch of a $600m notes issue and restructuring of its debt facilities.

Betting and gaming company William Hill ticked down after it said that Ruth Prior will be appointed chief financial officer, effective later in the year.

Booker nudged lower as its total fourth quarter sales were hit hard by the new tobacco display ban and plain packaging restrictions.

Energy supplier SSE was in the red after it said its dividend cover for its 2017/18 financial year to be at the lower range of its target.

Schroders, Old Mutual, Prudential, Smith & Nephew, British Land, Phoenix Group, Ferrexpo, Go-Ahead and Kier all weighed on London equity markets as their stock went ex-dividend.

Elsewhere, the European Commission’s Economic Sentiment Index for the UK picked up to 110.2 in March, the most since September 2015, from 109.4 last month, with business confidence improving in the services, retail and construction sectors, while remaining high in industry.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,360.30 -0.18%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,990.06 0.06%
techMARK (TASX) 3,468.81 -0.10%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,694.00p 3.42%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 240.60p 1.43%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,061.00p 1.38%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 3,894.00p 1.22%
Carnival (CCL) 4,640.00p 1.13%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,154.00p 1.13%
Pearson (PSON) 667.50p 0.98%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,050.00p 0.93%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,966.00p 0.87%
Wolseley (WOS) 5,130.00p 0.79%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Schroders (SDR) 3,023.00p -2.29%
British Land Company (BLND) 589.50p -2.08%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 328.80p -2.00%
BT Group (BT.A) 316.05p -1.95%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,216.00p -1.78%
SSE (SSE) 1,463.00p -1.68%
Prudential (PRU) 1,682.50p -1.49%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,030.00p -1.34%
Old Mutual (OML) 216.70p -1.32%
Intu Properties (INTU) 272.70p -1.23%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 132.80p 7.27%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,102.00p 6.17%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 227.20p 3.27%
AO World (AO.) 142.20p 3.12%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,009.00p 2.64%
TP ICAP (TCAP) 467.70p 2.57%
Polypipe Group (PLP) 361.90p 2.43%
Henderson Group (HGG) 235.40p 2.21%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 317.60p 2.09%
Sanne Group (SNN) 664.00p 2.08%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

RPC Group (RPC) 845.00p -3.87%
Phoenix Group Holdings (DI) (PHNX) 746.50p -3.74%
Kier Group (KIE) 1,363.00p -3.61%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,781.00p -3.27%
GVC Holdings (GVC) 726.50p -2.35%
Evraz (EVR) 223.90p -1.84%
Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) 1,128.00p -1.74%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 6,420.00p -1.61%
Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 283.30p -1.56%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,598.00p -1.48%