London open: Stocks edge higher on election day
London stocks edged tentatively higher in early trade on Thursday as Britons headed to the polls to cast their votes in the general election.
At 0840 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 7,234.34, while the pound was 0.1% higher against the dollar at 1.3206 and flat versus the euro at 1.1858.
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "While the polls have consistently given the Conservatives a decent lead over the past few weeks, some of the gaffes this week from both sides could well have shifted the voting calculus, particularly when voting intentions as far as party lines are concerned have never been less clear.
"The toxicity of the respective candidates towards certain parts of the electorate has meant that for a lot of voters there will be a lot of nose holding going on today, when they ponder their choices in the privacy of the polling booth."
Investors were also be mulling the latest policy announcement from the Federal Reserve, which said overnight that it had voted unanimously to keep interest rates unchanged, as widely expected. The US central bank also signalled that there would be no rate hikes next year.
Later in the day, attention will turn to the European Central Bank’s latest policy announcement.
Although the UK election was at the forefront of investors’ minds, Sino-US trade talks remained in focus following reports that US President Donald Trump will meet with his top advisors on Thursday to discuss what to do about Sunday’s scheduled tariff deadline.
"The markets are desperate for a ‘phase one’ deal or, failing that, at least a tariff delay - if Washington does indeed go ahead with the hike, things could be pretty ugly on Monday morning," said Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson.
On home shores, the latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed that house prices fell in November amid uncertainty about Brexit and the general election.
The RICS house price balance dropped to -12 from -5 in October, hitting its lowest level since April. Analysts had expected it to remain unchanged.
Meanwhile, the new buyer enquiries balance rose to -9 in November from -15 the month before.
RICS chief economist Simon Rubinsohn said: "Confidence is critical to a well-functioning housing market and whatever happens in the general election today, it is important that the new government provides reassurance both over the stewardship of the economy and the ongoing challenges around Brexit which continues to highlighted in a disproportionate number of remarks made by respondents to the RICS survey.
"Significantly despite the inevitable near-term concerns, the feedback regarding the medium-term view of the market remains surprisingly sanguine with the twelve month sales expectations indicator at its best level since the early part of 2017."
In equity markets, Ocado was on the front foot after Ocado Retail, its joint venture with Marks & Spencer, reported a slight slowdown in sales growth in the fourth quarter. Retail revenue rose 10.8% during the period to £429.1m, in line with the company’s guidance but down a little from 11.4% growth in the third quarter.
Construction group Balfour Beatty rallied as it said it expected full-year profit from operations to be slightly ahead of expectations after additional infrastructure investment disposals in the second half.
Serco was on the rise as the outsourcer lifted its full-year revenue and profit outlook.
On the downside, John Laing Group was sharply lower after the greenfield infrastructure investor said full-year net asset value will be "marginally" below market expectations.
Imperial Leather maker PZ Cussons was in the red after it warned that 2019 revenue and profit would be "modestly" below the previous year on a like-for-like basis amid "challenging" market conditions, and announced the retirement of its chief executive.
Associated British Foods, 3i Group, Marston’s and Cineworld were all weaker as their stock went ex-dividend.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,234.34 0.25%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,733.58 0.42%
techMARK (TASX) 4,013.39 0.14%
FTSE 100 - Risers
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 557.40p 2.05%
Flutter Entertainment (FLTR) 8,818.00p 1.73%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,857.00p 1.67%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 738.20p 1.54%
Glencore (GLEN) 221.85p 1.44%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 569.40p 1.37%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 378.20p 1.31%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 925.20p 1.25%
DCC (DCC) 6,366.00p 1.24%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,658.50p 1.16%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,446.00p -1.33%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,970.00p -0.88%
3i Group (III) 1,040.50p -0.86%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,963.00p -0.66%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 7,258.00p -0.66%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,658.20p -0.60%
Croda International (CRDA) 4,824.00p -0.54%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 935.00p -0.47%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,745.00p -0.46%
Fresnillo (FRES) 579.60p -0.34%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Balfour Beatty (BBY) 246.60p 7.03%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 357.30p 5.03%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 55.24p 4.90%
Serco Group (SRP) 152.80p 4.66%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 588.40p 4.25%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 150.60p 3.72%
Redrow (RDW) 690.00p 2.53%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 1,523.00p 2.35%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 135.00p 2.31%
Renishaw (RSW) 3,900.00p 2.20%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
John Laing Group (JLG) 360.00p -8.49%
FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 923.00p -3.05%
Marston's (MARS) 125.60p -2.94%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 1,050.00p -1.96%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 353.00p -1.40%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 213.00p -1.39%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 208.30p -1.37%
Sirius Minerals (SXX) 3.50p -1.30%
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 182.70p -1.24%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 400.20p -1.19%