London open: Stocks rise as energy sector rallies but recession fears remain

London stocks rose in early trade on Monday despite a weak Asian session, as energy shares rallied, but gains were unspectacular as recession fears continued to weigh.

At 0830 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 7,346.57.

Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "As a chill settles on markets, there is not much sign of a sustained Santa rally instead there is still a lack of overall cheer with investors mulling more interest rate rises and the never-ending story of the pandemic. The winter wave of Covid crashing over China is proving unsettling with worries about an escalation of infections now outweighing hopes that the easing of restrictions would lead to a brighter outlook for the economy.

"Chinese business confidence has fallen to its lowest since January 2013, according to data from World Economics, and as consumers desert streets and hunker down, while companies brace for mass absences, the immediate outlook remains bleak.

She added: "Concerns that the US will be dragged into recession, as the Federal Reserve tries to tame the wild horse of inflation are still front and centre."

There wasn’t much in the way of corporate news as we head towards the Christmas break, but oil giants Shell and BP gushed higher as oil prices rose.

Hospital group Spire Healthcare was in focus as it announced the acquisition of The Doctors Clinic Group, an integrated provider of occupational health and private GP services, for £12m.

JD Sports lost ground after announcing late on Friday that it had sold its interests in a number of fashion brands to Frasers Group for up to £47.5m.

Electricals retailer Currys was under the cosh after a downgrade to ‘hold’ at Investec.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,346.57 0.20%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,591.32 0.02%
techMARK (TASX) 4,340.05 -0.03%

FTSE 100 - Risers

BP (BP.) 464.40p 1.98%
Shell (SHEL) 2,281.00p 1.69%
F&C Investment Trust (FCIT) 905.00p 1.34%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,666.50p 1.34%
Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,064.00p 0.99%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 3,201.50p 0.95%
Glencore (GLEN) 536.00p 0.92%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,710.00p 0.83%
Beazley (BEZ) 640.00p 0.79%
BAE Systems (BA.) 847.00p 0.74%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 616.00p -2.16%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,395.00p -1.62%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 255.90p -1.20%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 7,260.00p -1.09%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 117.10p -0.85%
Schroders (SDR) 435.20p -0.82%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 11,070.00p -0.77%
Abrdn (ABDN) 183.80p -0.70%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 612.60p -0.68%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 849.00p -0.59%

FTSE 250 - Risers

The European Smaller Companies Trust (ESCT) 150.50p 3.79%
888 Holdings (DI) (888) 90.00p 3.63%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 178.00p 2.59%
Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 72.20p 2.56%
Playtech (PTEC) 508.50p 2.40%
Hammerson (HMSO) 23.16p 1.94%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 312.00p 1.93%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 8,625.00p 1.71%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 1,049.00p 1.65%
HarbourVest Global Private Equity Limited A Shs (HVPE) 2,210.00p 1.61%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Currys (CURY) 53.20p -6.50%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 277.20p -4.74%
FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 725.00p -3.59%
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 370.60p -3.24%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 130.00p -2.84%
JTC (JTC) 719.00p -2.57%
Softcat (SCT) 1,180.00p -2.16%
Shaftesbury (SHB) 352.00p -1.95%
TP Icap Group (TCAP) 168.00p -1.93%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 266.00p -1.85%