London open: Stocks edge down as pound ticks up; Carillion tumbles on warning
London stocks edged lower in early trade on Friday as the pound ticked up amid a much quieter corporate calendar.
At 0835 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.2% to 7,374.79, while the pound was up 0.1% versus the euro at 1.1221 and 0.3% firmer against the dollar at 1.3233.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: “With no data to speak of the pound felt comfortable in continuing yesterday’s rebound; the FTSE, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky.
"Despite more negative noise from the EU surrounding Brexit - with the Netherlands preparing for a no deal ‘chaos’ scenario, and leaked documents suggesting May’s aim of a ‘deep and special’ relationship won’t be possible - sterling got off to a decent start this Friday.”
In corporate news, outsourcing and construction group Carillion fell a whopping 63% after issuing its third profit warning in 12 months, saying full-year profits will be “materially lower” than current market expectations and that it now expects to breach its covenants.
United Utilities was hit by a downgrade to ‘hold’ from HSBC, while Supergroup fell after being downgraded to ‘sector perform' at RBC Capital Markets.
On the upside, broadcaster Sky was the standout gainer following reports that Comcast and Verizon have approached 21st Century Fox to buy some assets.
Construction and maintenance group Kier rallied after saying it made a smooth start to the year and it is confident of delivering double-digit profit growth.
Ferrexpo was on the front foot after it signed a new secured three year revolving credit facility of $195m that will be used for general corporate purposes.
Pest control and hygiene company Rentokil Initial traded higher as it agreed the issue of a €400m 0.95% bond, due 22 November 2024.
Petrofac gushed higher following a report that Schlumberger and Halliburton are among the companies looking to approach it with a bid.
CRH was boosted by an upgrade to ‘overweight’ at Morgan Stanley, while B&Q owner Kingfisher edged up after an upgrade to ‘sector perform’ at RBC Capital Markets.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,374.79 -0.16%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,792.10 -0.29%
techMARK (TASX) 3,446.58 -0.33%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Sky (SKY) 927.50p 2.71%
CRH (CRH) 2,709.00p 1.31%
Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) 421.00p 1.10%
NMC Health (NMC) 2,744.00p 0.96%
St James's Place (STJ) 1,150.00p 0.70%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,729.00p 0.67%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 605.50p 0.67%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 3,809.00p 0.66%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,913.00p 0.63%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 199.70p 0.60%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
United Utilities Group (UU.) 815.50p -2.28%
Shire Plc (SHP) 3,665.50p -2.10%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 570.50p -1.38%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,602.00p -1.23%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,120.00p -1.12%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 300.80p -0.92%
National Grid (NG.) 882.30p -0.81%
Next (NXT) 4,287.00p -0.76%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,741.00p -0.68%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 209.40p -0.66%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 426.00p 4.69%
Kier Group (KIE) 1,052.00p 3.24%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 248.30p 2.01%
Dignity (DTY) 2,002.00p 1.88%
Hunting (HTG) 501.50p 1.72%
PayPoint (PAY) 930.50p 1.53%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 6,080.00p 1.33%
Caledonia Investments (CLDN) 2,781.00p 1.13%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 691.50p 1.10%
Just Group (JUST) 151.00p 1.07%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Supergroup (SGP) 1,908.00p -3.10%
Greene King (GNK) 521.50p -2.80%
Savills (SVS) 925.50p -2.27%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 222.00p -2.16%
Stagecoach Group (SGC) 155.90p -1.89%
Marston's (MARS) 103.40p -1.80%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,003.00p -1.76%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 151.20p -1.75%
Just Eat (JE.) 810.50p -1.64%
Pennon Group (PNN) 789.00p -1.56%