London open: Stocks nudge lower ahead of Powell speech

London stocks nudged lower in early trade on Thursday as investors eyed a key speech by Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole symposium.

At 0825 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.2% at 6,035.71.

Danske Bank said: "Expectations are high that the Fed is adopting some sort of average inflation targeting allowing inflation to overshoot the 2% inflation target before tightening monetary policy.

"There has been some confusion about the timing of such an announcement after the FOMC minutes (September is our base case but could be later) but we do not think that is as important as whether Powell disappoints expectations today by suggesting a less radical shift in policy."

In equity markets, engine maker Rolls-Royce fell sharply as it said it was selling its Spanish business as it sought to raise £2bn after reporting a large interim loss and scrapping its dividend due to the coronavirus pandemic. The company also announced the departure of chief financial officer Stephen Daintith.

On the upside, WPP was in the black despite saying it plunged to a £2.6bn first-half loss as revenue fell and the advertising company wrote down £2.7bn for the reduced value of its assets during the Covid-19 crisis.

Flutter Entertainment gained as it posted a 22% jump in pro-forma first-half revenues to £2.39bn for a 35% surge in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation to £684m.

Building materials supplier Grafton Group rallied as it reported a decline in first-half profit and revenue due to the pandemic but struck a more upbeat note on the outlook, while OneSavings Bank rose on the back of well-received first-half numbers.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,035.71 -0.16%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,728.70 -0.14%
techMARK (TASX) 3,845.84 -0.09%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Polymetal International (POLY) 2,008.00p 1.41%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,015.00p 1.10%
Pennon Group (PNN) 1,024.00p 0.89%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,263.50p 0.88%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 2,557.00p 0.87%
Kingfisher (KGF) 283.50p 0.82%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 546.00p 0.81%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,375.00p 0.81%
Pearson (PSON) 575.80p 0.77%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 576.00p 0.77%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 239.20p -5.45%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 325.70p -1.78%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,646.00p -1.64%
Homeserve (HSV) 1,317.00p -1.57%
ITV (ITV) 58.54p -1.41%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 448.30p -0.97%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,255.50p -0.87%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 220.60p -0.81%
Prudential (PRU) 1,199.50p -0.66%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 389.00p -0.64%

FTSE 250 - Risers

OneSavings Bank (OSB) 275.00p 5.53%
PPHE Hotel Group Ltd (PPH) 1,110.00p 4.23%
Signature Aviation (SIG) 265.70p 2.43%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 239.00p 2.31%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 418.20p 2.10%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,281.00p 1.75%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 293.50p 1.73%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 34.60p 1.62%
IMI (IMI) 1,090.00p 1.58%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 303.40p 1.54%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Network International Holdings (NETW) 376.40p -3.49%
Chemring Group (CHG) 226.00p -3.21%
Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 120.90p -2.58%
Shaftesbury (SHB) 497.60p -2.43%
Quilter (QLT) 141.15p -2.22%
Coats Group (COA) 54.70p -1.97%
Workspace Group (WKP) 556.00p -1.77%
Derwent London (DLN) 2,810.00p -1.75%
Beazley (BEZ) 420.80p -1.73%
Ninety One (N91) 219.60p -1.70%