London open: Stocks edge lower amid slew of corporate news; public deficit eyed

London stocks edged lower in early trade on Tuesday as investors sifted through a raft of corporate releases and looked ahead to the latest public sector borrowing figures a day before the Autumn Budget.

At 0830 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.2% to 7,378.46, while the pound was flat against the euro at 1.1280 and up 0.1% versus the dollar at 1.3252.

Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "Compared to the politically choppy waters of yesterday morning, things are relatively calm this Tuesday.

"Good and bad Brexit news sort of cancelled each other out after the bell, with reports that the Cabinet are prepared to pay a higher divorce bill to the EU in order to break the current deadlock somewhat countered by the early signs of exodus from London, as the European Medicines Agency and European Banking Authority both announced their new digs outside the capital."

On the data front, public sector net borrowing is at 0930 GMT, while in Westminster there will be a chance to see the Bank of England monetary policy grilled at the quarterly Inflation Report hearings at 1100 GMT, the same time as the CBI's industrial trends survey is released.

In corporate news, EasyJet flew higher despite reporting a drop in annual profit as chief executive Carolyn McCall prepared to leave the budget airline after seven years in charge, after saying it sees a winter price boost following the collapse of Monarch Airlines.

Specialists building products supplier SIG was on the front foot after it said group revenue from continuing operations rose 6.7% in the period from 1 July to 31 October, while Telecom Plus advanced after posting a 2.6% jump in first-half revenue and saying full-year pre-tax profit is likely to be slightly ahead of current market expectations.

WPP was up after JPMorgan Cazenove lifted its price target on the stock, while SSE was boosted by an upgrade to 'buy' at Jefferies and ITV gained after Morgan Stanley upped it to 'overweight'.

On the downside, catering group Compass fell despite posting a rise in full-year profit as revenue grew thanks in part to a solid performance in North America, while Johnson Matthey retreated as it reported a 2% drop in first-half operating profit.

Home improvement retailer Kingfisher fell despite showing improved like-for-like sales in the third quarter as management kept a lid on disruption from turnaround plans.

Building materials group CRH was also on the back foot even as it said it continues to expect another year of progress and reported an increase in sales for the first nine months.

Intertek was in the red despite reporting a jump in revenue for the year to date, while Babcock International fell even as its underlying revenue rose 6% in the first half.

Melrose Industries was under the cosh after a trading update, as it said Nortek faces currency headwinds in 2018 and that the market for Brush has been "very difficult".

Premier Oil gushed lower after a Barclays downgrade to 'underweight', while Mediclinic fell after it was cut to 'underperform' by Macquarie and United Utilities was lower after a downgrade to 'sell' at Investec.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,378.46 -0.15%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,833.19 -0.19%
techMARK (TASX) 3,443.29 -0.28%

FTSE 100 - Risers

easyJet (EZJ) 1,326.00p 3.76%
ITV (ITV) 151.90p 2.22%
SSE (SSE) 1,354.00p 1.73%
Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) 426.50p 0.92%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 604.00p 0.83%
WPP (WPP) 1,276.00p 0.79%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 760.00p 0.73%
British Land Company (BLND) 622.50p 0.65%
Worldpay Group (WPG) 409.90p 0.47%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,297.00p 0.26%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Compass Group (CPG) 1,511.00p -5.03%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 768.50p -2.54%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,136.00p -2.47%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,224.00p -1.41%
CRH (CRH) 2,708.00p -1.17%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 198.80p -1.09%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 534.00p -0.84%
BT Group (BT.A) 244.15p -0.67%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,970.00p -0.64%
Croda International (CRDA) 4,290.00p -0.63%

FTSE 250 - Risers

SIG (SHI) 164.51p 3.08%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,195.00p 3.02%
Countryside Properties (CSP) 349.10p 2.44%
Hunting (HTG) 522.50p 1.95%
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 600.50p 1.87%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 352.60p 1.58%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 385.20p 1.37%
Ted Baker (TED) 2,632.00p 1.23%
Polypipe Group (PLP) 380.41p 1.20%
Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 1,126.83p 1.15%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Melrose Industries (MRO) 202.90p -5.76%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 200.90p -1.66%
Mitie Group (MTO) 222.30p -1.38%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 1,210.35p -1.36%
Redefine International (RDI) 36.37p -1.11%
Hansteen Holdings (HSTN) 140.70p -1.05%
Marston's (MARS) 103.02p -1.03%
Dignity (DTY) 1,830.40p -1.01%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 521.00p -0.86%
Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 258.20p -0.81%