London open: Stocks edge higher amid earnings avalanche; ECB announcement eyed

London stocks edged higher in early trade on Thursday as investors waded through an avalanche of earnings releases and eyed the latest policy announcement from the European Central Bank.

At 0840 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 7,513.03, while the pound was down 0.1% against the dollar at 1.2476 and flat versus the euro at 1.1210.

Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said: "Stocks remain well supported on the twin engines for equities in 2019 - stimulus and trade. ECB day today and the market is betting increasingly on Draghi to announce a cut to rates and perhaps signal QE. Expectations for a July cut rose yesterday as the German manufacturing data came in very weak and signalled the risks of recession in the Eurozone should the ECB not act.

"A resumption in trade talks between the US and China is also being greeted warmly by investors, as it confirms the détente following the G20."

The ECB interest rate decision is at 1245 BST, while the press conference is at 1330 BST.

Wilson said sterling remains rangebound, hovering around 1.2470 against the dollar, having failed to catch any bid over 1.25.

"Now we know the cabinet members - more Brexit than was Theresa May’s by a long chalk - we can look to how Boris and co manage Brexit and talks with the EU in the coming days," he said.

In equity markets, AstraZeneca was the standout gainer as the pharmaceuticals giant bumped up its product sales forecast for the year after better-than-expected second-quarter numbers.

Compass followed close behind after saying it expects to deliver full-year organic revenue growth at the top end of its 4-6% range thanks to a solid performance in North America.

Anglo American was a high riser after saying it would return $1bn (£800m) to shareholders through a share buyback and posting a 19% increase in half-year core earnings to $5.5bn.

On the FTSE 250, aerospace and defence supplier Cobham surged after agreeing to be bought by US private equity firm Advent International for £4bn.

Budget airline Wizz Air flew higher as it lifted its full-year capacity growth rate and reported better-than-expected net profit for the three months to the end of June.

Softcat rallied as the provider of IT infrastructure products and services said it now expects full-year operating profit to be ahead of its previous expectations.

On the downside, Sage Group slumped after saying it expects organic operating profit margin for the year to be at the lower end of the guided range of 23-25%.

Relx was in the red as its interim revenues missed expectations, while drinks maker Diageo retreated even as it posted a rise in full-year profit, with growth across all regions.

Unilever was also trading lower after the consumer goods giant reported flat interim pre-tax profits as underlying sales grew 3.3%.

Metro Bank was under the cosh following the release of disappointing first-half results after the close on Wednesday and news that founder Vernon Hill was standing down as chairman.

SSE, Pennon, Royal Mail, Halfords and Tritax Big Box were all weaker as their stock went ex-dividend.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,513.03 0.15%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,854.35 0.34%
techMARK (TASX) 3,796.84 2.32%

FTSE 100 - Risers

AstraZeneca (AZN) 6,709.00p 5.50%
Compass Group (CPG) 2,020.00p 2.83%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,223.00p 1.65%
ITV (ITV) 115.05p 1.59%
Aveva Group (AVV) 4,020.00p 1.57%
Rightmove (RMV) 520.40p 1.36%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,227.50p 1.36%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,675.00p 1.29%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,245.00p 1.08%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 689.60p 1.06%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Sage Group (SGE) 755.80p -7.45%
SSE (SSE) 1,088.00p -6.61%
Relx plc (REL) 1,855.50p -4.31%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 374.50p -2.37%
Diageo (DGE) 3,299.50p -1.61%
Centrica (CNA) 87.62p -1.55%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 418.80p -1.20%
Next (NXT) 5,592.00p -1.17%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,557.00p -1.07%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 199.30p -1.04%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Cobham (COB) 165.30p 34.66%
Softcat (SCT) 978.50p 6.42%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 3,831.00p 6.27%
Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 528.80p 4.42%
AJ Bell (AJB) 444.64p 3.84%
National Express Group (NEX) 439.83p 3.59%
Senior (SNR) 205.60p 2.59%
Sirius Minerals (SXX) 15.40p 2.46%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 264.00p 2.40%
Rank Group (RNK) 158.20p 2.06%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Metro Bank (MTRO) 386.64p -18.84%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 701.20p -8.56%
Royal Mail (RMG) 206.90p -7.63%
Vivo Energy (VVO) 116.70p -4.50%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 244.60p -3.93%
Pennon Group (PNN) 725.00p -3.44%
Investec (INVP) 498.90p -2.44%
Victrex plc (VCT) 2,018.00p -2.32%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 202.70p -2.22%
Marston's (MARS) 105.00p -2.05%