London open: Stocks edge down ahead of ECB announcement

London stocks edged lower in early trade on Thursday as investors waded through an avalanche of corporate updates, mulled the latest borrowing figures and looked ahead to the latest policy announcement from the European Central Bank.

At 0910 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.4% at 7,235.20.

Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: "Markets are treading water ahead of the crucial European Central Bank rate decision at lunchtime. The ECB is expected to hike rates for the first time in 11 years, ending its experiment with negative interest rates. Financial markets are pricing in a 25-basis point hike although a 50-basis point increase remains a possibility amid pressure to follow the Fed and other central banks with more aggressive interest rate increases."

On home shores, data out earlier from the Office for National Statistics showed that public sector net borrowing rose by £4.1bn to £22.9bn in June, which is the second-highest for June since monthly records began in 1993.

The figure was above consensus expectations of £22.5bn and higher than the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March forecast of £22.3bn.

In equity markers, Dechra Pharmaceuticals tumbled after it raised around £180m in a discounted share placing for the acquisition of US-based Piedmont Animal Health.

Anglo-Russian precious metals miner Polymetal was also in the red after the release of its second-quarter production results.

On the upside, kitchen supplier Howden Joinery rallied after it posted a jump in first-half profit and revenue as it said it was trading "well ahead" of pre-Covid levels and backed its outlook for the year.

3i Group gained after saying it had made a good start to the new financial year, with both portfolios trading "resiliently".

JD Sports was in the black following reports it is looking to sell the Footasylum chain to Aurelius Group.

Frasers surged after lifting its full-year profit outlook despite a "challenging" backdrop. The company now expects adjusted pre-tax profit for the full year to be between £450m and £500m, up from previous guidance of £300m to £350m.

Moneysupermarket, Volution and IG Group were all trading higher after updates.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,235.20 -0.40%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,433.67 0.17%
techMARK (TASX) 4,353.70 0.08%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 645.40p 2.61%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 143.40p 2.58%
3i Group (III) 1,224.50p 2.30%
WPP (WPP) 873.40p 2.30%
Halma (HLMA) 2,222.00p 2.07%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 11,100.00p 1.88%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,781.50p 1.86%
Sage Group (SGE) 703.60p 1.79%
Informa (INF) 588.40p 1.62%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 608.80p 1.40%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 3,500.00p -6.17%
BAE Systems (BA.) 782.60p -2.56%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,028.50p -1.95%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,554.00p -1.92%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 113.94p -1.74%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 344.30p -1.68%
Fresnillo (FRES) 650.00p -1.60%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 10,762.00p -1.43%
Glencore (GLEN) 420.55p -1.29%
Shell (SHEL) 2,024.50p -1.27%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Frasers Group (FRAS) 848.50p 13.13%
Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 203.60p 5.99%
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 741.50p 4.22%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 302.50p 3.60%
Clarkson (CKN) 3,555.00p 3.19%
Genus (GNS) 2,556.00p 2.98%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 262.60p 2.82%
Diploma (DPLM) 2,630.00p 2.73%
AJ Bell (AJB) 295.00p 2.64%
Ninety One (N91) 196.20p 2.51%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Carnival (CCL) 723.20p -7.47%
Polymetal International (POLY) 208.60p -7.29%
Investec (INVP) 417.30p -4.22%
Pennon Group (PNN) 961.00p -3.90%
FirstGroup (FGP) 130.60p -3.26%
Cranswick (CWK) 3,144.00p -2.30%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 284.90p -2.30%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 77.90p -2.16%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 527.60p -2.15%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 169.40p -1.85%