London open: Stocks edge lower but BT, Shell rally after results
London stocks were a little lower in early trade on Thursday, having sold off sharply in the previous session amid concerns about tightening Covid-19 restrictions across Europe, as investors eyed the latest US GDP reading and a policy announcement from the European Central Bank.
At 0840 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.4% at 5,562.09, having slumped 2.6% on Wednesday.
CMC Markets analyst David Madden said: "When the pandemic set in, medical experts warned that even if the virus is controlled during the summer months, the crisis is likely to pick-up in severity as winter approaches.
"That is exactly what we’re are seeing at the moment. The fear in the markets is nowhere near as bad as it was back in February and March, but the mood music is the worst it has been since spring."
France has announced a one-month national lockdown from Friday, while Germany will implement a four-week lockdown "lite" from Monday. In the UK, meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under pressure to bring in a second national lockdown.
Investors were looking ahead to the release of US third-quarter GDP data at 1230 GMT and the latest rate announcement from the ECB at 1245 GMT.
"The US advance GDP reading for the third quarter is expected to be 31%, and keep in mind the economy contracted by 31.4% in the second quarter," said Madden.
In equity markets, advertising company WPP slid even as it reported an improvement in third-quarter sales, with revenue less pass-through costs - which excludes the impact of acquisitions and disposals - down 7.6% to £2.4bn compared to a 15.1% fall in the second quarter.
Standard Chartered was weaker even after it posted a smaller-than-expected fall in third-quarter profit and lowered bad loan guidance as it considered a return to dividends at the full year stage.
Engine maker Rolls-Royce was on the back foot as its stock went ex-dividend.
Travel and leisure stocks were under the cosh again amid worries about Covid restrictions, with British Airways parent IAG, Premier Inn owner Whitbread, InterContinental, TUI, Carnival and Upper Crust owner SSP all trading lower.
On the upside, BT surged as it posted a decline in half-year pre-tax profit but lifted its earnings outlook and said it plans to reinstate dividends from 2021/22.
Royal Dutch Shell gained after it unveiled a plan to increase dividends and cut debt as it swung to a small third-quarter profit. The energy giant lifted its dividend by 4% quarter on quarter to 16.65 cents a share and reported a $177m profit on a current cost of supplies (CCS) basis, compared with a $18.4bn loss in the second quarter.
Lloyds pushed higher as the bank reported better-than-expected third-quarter profits and lowered its bad loan provisions after a surge in new mortgage lending.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 5,562.09 -0.37%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,231.95 -0.10%
techMARK (TASX) 3,584.24 0.12%
FTSE 100 - Risers
BT Group (BT.A) 109.65p 7.87%
Rightmove (RMV) 636.00p 1.86%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 916.20p 1.80%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 881.60p 1.75%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 28.06p 1.48%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,434.00p 1.25%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 8,900.00p 1.14%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,039.00p 0.95%
Pennon Group (PNN) 1,015.00p 0.94%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 583.20p 0.83%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
WPP (WPP) 589.00p -4.23%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 359.80p -3.72%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 90.62p -3.29%
Informa (INF) 412.90p -2.62%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,087.00p -2.16%
Prudential (PRU) 939.00p -2.15%
BP (BP.) 189.32p -2.13%
Glencore (GLEN) 152.98p -2.11%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 3,798.00p -1.86%
Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) 215.50p -1.73%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Diversified Gas & Oil (DGOC) 110.00p 3.19%
PZ Cussons (PZC) 235.00p 2.40%
Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 1,468.00p 2.23%
Synthomer (SYNT) 386.80p 2.06%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 403.50p 2.02%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 196.80p 1.97%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 1,119.00p 1.82%
Shaftesbury (SHB) 455.20p 1.61%
Ultra Electronics Holdings (ULE) 1,969.00p 1.49%
AO World (AO.) 339.50p 1.49%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Rank Group (RNK) 84.00p -6.67%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 278.50p -4.26%
Helios Towers (HTWS) 157.60p -3.90%
Carnival (CCL) 812.20p -3.17%
SSP Group (SSPG) 173.90p -2.90%
National Express Group (NEX) 144.00p -2.70%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 205.40p -2.65%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 222.00p -2.63%
Provident Financial (PFG) 222.40p -2.54%
Energean (ENOG) 514.90p -2.46%