London open: Stocks flat as investors eye inflation figures

London stocks were flat in early trade as investors eyed the release of key UK inflation data.

At 0825 GMT, the FTSE 100 was flat at 7,432.43.

On the data front, the UK producer price index, retail price index and consumer price index are all at 0930 GMT, along with public sector net borrowing figures.

Spreadex's Connor Campbell said: "Inflation is the name of the game this Tuesday, the UK markets keen to see what level the metric crept to last month. Analysts expect the figure to come in at 2.1%, a sharp rise on January’s 1.8% and the highest reading for over three years."

"That also, crucially, would take CPI above the Bank of England’s long-held 2.0% target. The surpassing of that aim could well push a couple more MPC members towards the Kristen Forbes end of things in the coming months; at the very least it will cause a few difficult conversations about how long to allow inflation to loiter above that target before tightening monetary policy.

"If estimates are correct, this hawkish figure could help the Article 50-softened pound rise back above 1.24 against the dollar, a level sterling abandoned yesterday after Theresa May announced the date she will pull the Brexit trigger."

In corporate news, Bellway shares rose after it hoisted its interim dividend 10% as the housebuilder enjoyed continued strong demand in the first half and maintained its targets for the full year.

Medical device maker Vectura Group gained ground as it reported growth in revenue last year on the back of recently launched products.

Online gaming entertainment and solutions provider 888 Holdings rallied after it posted a rise in revenue for the year ended 31 December as it lifted its dividend and announced a special dividend.

Enquest advanced after saying said the development of the Kraken field continued to be on track and is running under budget, and reiterating previous guidance for full-year 2017 production.

Drink mixers maker Fever-Tree slumped despite reporting a big jump in full-year profit and revenue that met expectations, with some analysts pointing to disappointment that no upgrades were announced and that co-founder Charles Rolls plans to transition from executive deputy chairman to non-executive deputy chairman.

Tullow Oil gushed higher after Deutsche Bank upped the stock to 'buy' from 'hold', while Bunzl jumped on the back of an upgrade to 'overweight' by Barclays and Hastings was boosted by an initiation at 'outperform' from Credit Suisse.

On the downside, Esure was hit by a downgrade to 'neutral' from Citigroup, while Berendsen slumped on a Barclays downgrade to 'underweight'.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,432.43 0.04%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,166.03 0.07%
techMARK (TASX) 3,487.53 -0.05%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Bunzl (BNZL) 2,384.00p 2.10%
Standard Life (SL.) 366.40p 0.74%
Barclays (BARC) 229.95p 0.72%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 69.75p 0.65%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 3,116.00p 0.58%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 549.50p 0.55%
Prudential (PRU) 1,778.00p 0.54%
Centrica (CNA) 215.30p 0.51%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,020.00p 0.49%
Royal Mail (RMG) 416.50p 0.48%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Antofagasta (ANTO) 831.00p -2.18%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,407.00p -1.82%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,319.00p -1.31%
Glencore (GLEN) 340.25p -1.29%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,265.50p -1.06%
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 8,685.00p -0.57%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,679.00p -0.56%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,521.00p -0.46%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 273.30p -0.36%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,882.50p -0.36%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG) 258.80p 3.56%
Vectura Group (VEC) 161.40p 2.54%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 201.90p 2.23%
Hunting (HTG) 546.00p 2.15%
Redefine International (RDI) 37.20p 1.81%
BBA Aviation (BBA) 309.00p 1.34%
International Personal Finance (IPF) 175.25p 1.30%
Bellway (BWY) 2,861.00p 1.17%
Marshalls (MSLH) 356.70p 1.13%
SIG (SHI) 110.50p 1.01%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Berendsen (BRSN) 805.00p -6.18%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 501.50p -3.56%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 169.50p -2.75%
AO World (AO.) 144.20p -2.24%
esure Group (ESUR) 235.70p -1.79%
Countryside Properties (CSP) 232.90p -1.40%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 265.20p -1.38%
Allied Minds (ALM) 375.60p -1.16%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 135.25p -1.10%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 873.00p -0.96%