London open: Markets pause ahead of UK GDP, but airlines rise

UK stocks opened flat on Tuesday with gains in the airline and mining sectors offset by falling bank shares, as markets paused at a fresh four-month high.

London’s FTSE 100 was down just 0.01% at 6,851.55 early on after settling at 6,852.40 on Monday, its best finish since 5 September 2014 when it closed at 6,855.10.

The outcome of the weekend’s Greek elections continues to be in focus for financial markets worldwide after anti-austerity, far-left party Syriza won the poll and agreed to form a coalition government with the centre-right Independent Greeks.

“In Greece, it was a case of Syriza came, they won, they formed a coalition and the Eurozone did not fall apart at the seams,” said economist Simon Smith from FxPro.

Weighing on sentiment early on was the news that industrial profits in China dropped by 8% year-on-year in December, with the rate of contraction worsening from -4.2% in November. Meanwhile, a measure of small business confidence in Japan also weakened in January.

The focus of Tuesday’s session would likely be on UK gross domestic product estimates for the fourth quarter which are expected to show that the economy expanded by 0.6% after 0.7% growth the preceding three months.

Easyjet and IAG flying higher, Afren plummets

Shares in Easyjet ascended after the British budget airline said it now expects an increase in revenues per seat in the first half. The company said revenue per seat at constant currency should rise by 2% on last year, compared with its previous guidance of “flat to very slightly up”. It also expects to report a loss before tax of £10m-30m in the first half, compared with a £53m loss the year before.

Sector peer IAG also gained after sweetening its offer for Aer Lingus to €2.55 per share, valuing the Dublin-based airline at €1.36bn. “The board of Aer Lingus has indicated to IAG that the financial terms of the proposal are at a level at which it would be willing to recommend to Aer Lingus shareholders,” IAG said in a statement.

The share price of oil group Afren collapsed after the company said it needs to restructure its debts or receive an equity injection due to the “significant dislocation” in the oil market. Investors are still waiting on Nigerian producer Seplat to see if it makes a firm offer for the company. The stock was down 53%.

Mining stocks edged higher, including Fresnillo, Petra Diamonds, Glencore and Randgold. Heading the other way were the banks with HSBC, Standard Chartered and RBS trading in the red.

Market Movers
techMARK 3,083.16 +0.02%
FTSE 100 6,851.55 -0.01%
FTSE 250 16,501.80 +0.19%

FTSE 100 - Risers
easyJet (EZJ) 1,818.00p +3.53%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 562.00p +2.37%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 377.60p +1.94%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,555.00p +1.93%
Glencore (GLEN) 257.05p +1.72%
Fresnillo (FRES) 911.00p +1.62%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,191.00p +1.10%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,705.00p +1.07%
Sage Group (SGE) 484.90p +1.02%
Kingfisher (KGF) 349.90p +0.98%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 409.40p -4.77%
Royal Mail (RMG) 436.10p -3.37%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 309.90p -1.05%
Pearson (PSON) 1,334.00p -0.89%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,025.00p -0.87%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 621.70p -0.86%
TUI AG Reg Shs (Post- 16/12/14)(DI) (TUIJ) 1,161.00p -0.85%
Whitbread (WTB) 5,025.00p -0.79%
Wolseley (WOS) 3,929.00p -0.78%
BT Group (BT.A) 422.70p -0.77%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Britvic (BVIC) 674.00p +4.33%
Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 279.40p +4.10%
Zoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 176.20p +3.95%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 385.00p +3.41%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 170.40p +3.15%
Card Factory (CARD) 264.30p +3.12%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 290.50p +3.12%
PZ Cussons (PZC) 320.00p +2.89%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 67.70p +2.89%
Diploma (DPLM) 784.00p +2.55%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Afren (AFR) 8.37p -52.63%
Hunting (HTG) 429.60p -3.11%
Premier Oil (PMO) 144.00p -1.91%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 134.00p -1.69%
Aveva Group (AVV) 1,357.00p -1.60%
Fidelity European Values (FEV) 170.00p -1.56%
FirstGroup (FGP) 104.70p -1.13%
Fidessa Group (FDSA) 2,363.00p -1.13%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 551.00p -1.08%
Serco Group (SRP) 162.90p -0.97%