London open: Stocks slip ahead of PMIs

Stocks in London edged lower in early trade as investors awaited the release of the UK manufacturing and services purchasing managers’ index.

At 0825 BST, the FTSE 100 was trading down 0.3% to 6,680.23.

CMC Markets’ Michael Hewson said the figures “will give us an early snapshot ahead of the final numbers which normally come out at the beginning of August”.

“Expectations are low with manufacturing and services both expected to slide into contraction territory with numbers of 47.8 and 48.9 respectively, down from June numbers of 52.1 and 52.3. The last time the services sector would have been this weak was back at the end of 2012.”

UK PMI is due to be released at 0930 BST.

In corporate news, Home Retail Group gained ground after the Competition and Markets Authority cleared Sainsbury’s acquisition of the Argos owner.

Vodafone was higher after its first-quarter revenue beat analysts’ expectations, while building materials group CRH rallied after lifting its earnings estimate as a result of exceptional trading in the second quarter.

Shares in gold miner Acacia Mining surged after it reported a jump in first-half profit and lifted its dividend.

On the downside, Sports Direct was under the cosh after a report by the Business, Innovation and Skills committee compared working conditions at the company to a Victorian workhouse and said founder Mike Ashley must be held accountable.

Elsewhere, Marks & Spencer was in the red after Barclays downgraded the stock to ‘underweight’ from ‘equalweight’.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,685.66 -0.21%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,037.29 -0.06%
techMARK (TASX) 3,404.04 0.16%

FTSE 100 - Risers

CRH (CRH) 2,282.00p 3.96%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 230.95p 2.60%
Centrica (CNA) 242.90p 2.06%
National Grid (NG.) 1,098.50p 0.46%
BT Group (BT.A) 388.80p 0.45%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,539.00p 0.34%
SABMiller (SAB) 4,432.50p 0.06%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,638.00p 0.00%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,456.00p 0.00%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,239.00p 0.00%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 319.60p -2.71%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,044.00p -2.16%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,527.00p -1.55%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 925.10p -1.50%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,609.00p -1.47%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,168.00p -1.43%
Anglo American (AAL) 776.50p -1.42%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 2,660.00p -1.37%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 416.00p -1.30%
Schroders (SDR) 2,545.00p -1.28%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Acacia Mining (ACA) 553.00p 6.14%
Home Retail Group (HOME) 154.00p 3.15%
IP Group (IPO) 151.70p 3.06%
John Laing Group (JLG) 225.90p 2.64%
Countryside Properties (CSP) 246.10p 2.54%
Man Group (EMG) 126.00p 2.02%
NCC Group (NCC) 329.80p 1.95%
SSP Group (SSPG) 308.20p 1.82%
Allied Minds (ALM) 367.00p 1.77%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 160.60p 1.77%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Countrywide (CWD) 235.30p -6.89%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 351.00p -2.74%
William Hill (WMH) 297.00p -2.40%
Evraz (EVR) 156.10p -2.07%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 331.50p -1.92%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 601.00p -1.80%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 413.80p -1.71%
Henderson Group (HGG) 221.00p -1.65%
Riverstone Energy Limited (RSE) 910.50p -1.62%
BGEO Group (BGEO) 2,739.00p -1.55%