London open: Stocks little changed ahead of construction PMI; Ocado rallies
London stocks were little changed in early trade on Wednesday following solid gains in the previous session, as investors eyed the latest reading on the UK construction sector and key US jobs data.
At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was down just 0.1% at 5,842.67.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "There was precious little movement from the major indices after the bell. The FTSE effectively sat flat at 5850, resisting the temptation to slide properly into the red despite BP, Shell and basically its entire banking sector giving up a chunk of Tuesday’s gains.
"Though it is unclear how much attention investors will give it, the UK’s main data-focus this Wednesday is the latest construction PMI, which is set to slide from 39.3 to 21.5 month-on-month.
"A slither of hope for Europe is the fact the Dow Jones is currently scheduling in a 150 point increase later this afternoon, one that would once again see it mount an assault on 24,000 after failing to close above that level on Tuesday.
"Standing between now and then, however, is a taste of Friday’s potentially history-making nonfarm jobs report. The ADP unemployment change reading is set to show 20 million jobs were lost in April, a figure that sits a smidge below the 21.4 million forecasts for the headline nonfarm figure set to arrive at the end of the week."
Markit’s UK construction PMI for April is due out at 0930 BST, while the US ADP employment report is scheduled for release at 1315 BST.
In equity markets, cruise operator Carnival, Premier Inn owner Whitbread and hotel chain InterContinental Hotels were among the worst performers amid worries about the impact of the pandemic.
On the upside, online supermarket Ocado rallied as it reported a hefty 40.4% rise in second-quarter retail revenue, but pulled full year guidance as Britons had food supplies delivered during the coronavirus lockdown. That growth compared to 10.3% in its first quarter.
AstraZeneca rose after its Farxiga heart treatment was given approval by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Insurer Direct Line was in the green as it said it expected to take a gross hit of £44m, or £25m net, in travel claims from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, offset by a 70% fall in motor claims.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 5,842.67 -0.12%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 16,055.12 -0.24%
techMARK (TASX) 3,551.85 -0.06%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,728.50p 2.95%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 8,648.00p 1.60%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,473.00p 1.35%
Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 579.20p 1.15%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 405.80p 1.15%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,394.00p 1.14%
Croda International (CRDA) 4,879.00p 0.99%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 667.00p 0.98%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,951.50p 0.83%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,060.00p 0.79%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Carnival (CCL) 927.00p -3.50%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,746.00p -3.45%
Meggitt (MGGT) 255.70p -3.14%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 3,430.00p -3.03%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 96.10p -2.69%
Centrica (CNA) 39.39p -2.45%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,277.50p -2.07%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 147.60p -2.06%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 293.90p -2.03%
Informa (INF) 427.50p -1.99%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 76.18p 6.84%
Rank Group (RNK) 156.60p 4.40%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 393.40p 3.53%
Chemring Group (CHG) 203.00p 3.26%
Energean Oil & Gas (ENOG) 674.00p 3.22%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 149.80p 3.10%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 713.60p 3.06%
Biffa (BIFF) 219.00p 3.06%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 191.60p 3.01%
John Laing Group (JLG) 371.00p 2.54%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 449.90p -4.86%
Bodycote (BOY) 558.00p -4.12%
LondonMetric Property (LMP) 183.50p -3.47%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 172.10p -3.31%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,032.50p -3.28%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 54.00p -3.26%
Playtech (PTEC) 229.50p -3.16%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 251.60p -3.08%
Avon Rubber (AVON) 2,505.00p -2.91%
Equiniti Group (EQN) 149.20p -2.86%