London open: Stocks, sterling nudge higher ahead of inflation data
London stocks and sterling nudged higher in early trade on Tuesday as investors eyed the release of key inflation data.
At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.1% to 7,519.82, while the pound was up 0.3% against the euro at 1.1329 and 0.2% higher versus the dollar at 1.2680 ahead of the retail price index, producer price index and consumer price index at 0930 BST.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "After a rapid climb from a pre-referendum 0.3% to 2.7% in April, May’s inflation reading is expected to show that the CPI hasn’t moved from that 4 year peak. It’s worth noting, however, that it’s a long time since analysts’ estimates were on the money – since January alone the reading has outperformed forecasts 4 out of 5 times.
"Normally this would inspire talk of a rate hike from the Bank of England (the MPC meet on Thursday). However, the central bank already seemed pretty damn dovish before the election; now the country is once again swamped in political uncertainty there is even less of a chance that there will be an increase in interest rates any time soon."
Sterling had been under the cosh again on Monday as investors continued to assess the implications of a hung parliament on the UK economy. Prime Minister Theresa May addressed her party's backbench 1922 Committee, apologising for "getting us into this mess" but also pledging to "get us out of it" and to serve as "long as you want me to do it".
Tuesday also marks the first day of the Federal Reserve's two-day interest rate setting meeting, which is expected to yield the second rate hike this year.
In corporate news, Acacia Mining was in the black as it confirmed that it is continuing to operate all three of its mines in Tanzania, after the government accused it of operating illegally and avoiding tax by under-declaring its gold exports.
Legal & General edged up after saying it has had a strong start to the year, while Petrofac gushed higher after it secured a $35m contract with Kuwait Oil Company.
Fashion retailer Ted Baker rallied after it reported a 14.2% rise in revenue for the 19 weeks to 10 June as it presses ahead with its global expansion, with openings in Los Angeles, Paris, and Shanghai.
Advertising giant WPP was boosted by an initiation at 'buy' from UBS, while London Stock Exchange appeared to be benefiting from the European Commission draft on clearing, which was not as bad as feared.
Outsourcer Capita surged after it reported "good progress" on its restructuring and said the turnaround of IT Services was progressing better than expected, three months after its chief executive resigned and the outsourcing group was dumped out of the FTSE 100.
Equipment hire company Ashtead nudged lower despite reporting a better-than-expected full-year profit, while Merlin Entertainments was on the back foot after it warned over the impact of the UK terror attacks.
Housebuilder Crest Nicholson was just a tad weaker after reporting a rise in profit and revenue for the half year but cautioning that the UK election could bring about uncertainty.
Health and safety technology group Halma retreated despite posting a jump in full-year revenue and profit, thanks in part to acquisitions, while Telecom Plus slumped as its full-year pre-tax profit came in below consensus expectations.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,519.82 0.11%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,750.41 0.34%
techMARK (TASX) 3,571.85 -0.03%
FTSE 100 - Risers
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 3,507.00p 3.18%
WPP (WPP) 1,693.00p 1.44%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 253.30p 1.28%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,152.00p 0.88%
Next (NXT) 4,282.00p 0.82%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,070.00p 0.82%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 179.40p 0.79%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 593.00p 0.76%
National Grid (NG.) 1,018.00p 0.74%
Provident Financial (PFG) 2,949.00p 0.72%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Merlin Entertainments (MERL) 485.90p -3.40%
3i Group (III) 911.50p -1.83%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 884.50p -0.84%
BAE Systems (BA.) 662.00p -0.75%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 805.00p -0.74%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,279.00p -0.50%
Centrica (CNA) 199.60p -0.50%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,230.50p -0.48%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,635.00p -0.37%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,636.00p -0.30%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Capita (CPI) 604.00p 9.72%
Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate (KWE) 1,109.00p 7.67%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 392.50p 2.80%
Ted Baker (TED) 2,490.00p 2.68%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 530.00p 2.42%
Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 1,695.00p 2.23%
Drax Group (DRX) 362.70p 2.05%
esure Group (ESUR) 285.00p 1.79%
Dignity (DTY) 2,446.00p 1.66%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 395.60p 1.62%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,242.00p -4.61%
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 435.20p -2.49%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 227.80p -0.87%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 526.00p -0.85%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,119.00p -0.80%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 123.40p -0.56%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 597.50p -0.50%
P2P Global Investments (P2P) 894.50p -0.45%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 293.70p -0.44%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 812.50p -0.43%