London midday: Stocks gain but Scottish uncertainty limits upside
UK stocks were making gains on Friday as investors shrugged off weak construction data and picked up some bargains after equity markets hit a three-week low the previous session.
Aveva Group
3,219.00p
07:30 18/01/23
BHP Group Limited NPV (DI)
2,232.00p
16:40 02/05/24
Fresnillo
558.00p
16:40 02/05/24
GKN
482.40p
17:00 18/05/18
Glencore
458.70p
17:15 02/05/24
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets
286.40p
16:55 26/10/21
Rio Tinto
5,442.00p
17:15 02/05/24
Sainsbury (J)
264.20p
16:35 02/05/24
Whitbread
3,001.00p
16:35 02/05/24
London's FTSE 100, which has traded within a tight range for the whole week, was 0.2% higher at 6,815 by midday after closing below the 6,800 mark on Thursday for the first time since 22 August.
However despite the slight bounce, dealer Jonathan Sudaria from Capital Spreads said that stocks across Europe "continue to stumble around in uncertainty", with a number of risk events next week prompting some caution.
The Federal Reserve will meet to vote on its latest policy decision, the Bank of England will release the minutes of its latest meeting, while the Scottish referendum takes place on 18 September.
"With all that to ruminate over, it’s unlikely that traders will be looking to put on any large positions going into the weekend," Sudaria said.
A YouGov opinion poll showed that the 'no' campaign was back in the lead ahead of the Scottish referendum with 52% in support of the union.
However, the International Monetary Fund has spread fears about the risks of a potential 'yes' vote, saying that it could lead to turmoil in financial markets.
The IMF deputy spokesman, William Murray, said at a press briefing that a vote to separate Scotland from the rest of the UK "would raise a number of important and complicated issues that would have to be negotiated". He said that a 'yes' vote would create "uncertainty" and "could lead to negative market reactions in the short term".
In economic data on Friday, the Office for National Statistics revealed that UK construction output was flat in July after 1.2% growth in June, surprising analysts who had expected a 0.6% expansion. The annual rate of growth eased from 5.3% to 2.6%, missing the 3.2% forecast and registering the weakest increase since November 2013.
Aveva plummets after H1 sales drop
Aveva shares were down 24% in morning trade after the engineering software company said revenues in the first half would be as much as 23% lower than last year due to negative currency movements and the timing of rental renewals, as well as softness in some markets. The group said it was reviewing its headcount growth plans and spending.
Supermarket group Morrisons rose as investors continued to digest Thursday's interim results. The company announced a 51% drop in underlying profits but kept to its promise to raise its dividend by 5% and maintained its guidance for an increase in the full-year payout. Rival grocer Sainsburys was also on the up.
Banking stocks were also providing a lift to markets with RBS, Lloyds and Barclays making gains. Scotland-based RBS and Lloyds have both said that they would have to re-domicile in England in the event of a 'yes' vote for Scottish independence.
Miners were putting in a mixed performance with Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton in positive territory and Anglo American and Glencore in the red.
Fresnillo inched higher after proposing to spend $450m on buying out its joint venture partner to take full ownership of certain assets in the Herradura Corridor, one of Mexico's most prospective gold belts.
Engineer GKN was boosted by an upgrade to 'overweight' by Barclays Capital, while leisure group Whitbread fell after a UBS downgrade to 'sell'
Market Movers
techMARK 2,845.76 +0.07%
FTSE 100 6,815.21 +0.23%
FTSE 250 15,727.13 +0.68%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 388.90p +2.53%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 291.10p +2.03%
Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,754.00p +1.85%
Barclays (BARC) 229.65p +1.84%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 705.50p +1.15%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 959.00p +1.11%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,535.00p +1.05%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,362.00p +1.04%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,348.00p +0.99%
Fresnillo (FRES) 827.00p +0.98%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Whitbread (WTB) 4,281.00p -1.09%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,649.00p -1.05%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,480.00p -0.80%
Sage Group (SGE) 379.90p -0.78%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,387.00p -0.67%
Glencore (GLEN) 358.90p -0.61%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,067.00p -0.56%
Old Mutual (OML) 195.30p -0.56%
Centrica (CNA) 321.90p -0.53%
TUI Travel (TT.) 359.90p -0.50%
FTSE 250 - Risers
IP Group (IPO) 216.80p +3.19%
Home Retail Group (HOME) 179.50p +3.16%
Evraz (EVR) 119.30p +3.02%
Rightmove (RMV) 2,391.00p +3.02%
Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 277.00p +2.97%
International Personal Finance (IPF) 517.50p +2.68%
AO World (AO.) 195.00p +2.63%
Domino Printing Sciences (DNO) 618.00p +2.57%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 234.70p +2.49%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 362.50p +2.40%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Aveva Group (AVV) 1,650.00p -23.89%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 302.10p -3.39%
Kazakhmys (KAZ) 278.80p -3.13%
African Barrick Gold (ABG) 227.00p -1.39%
Dignity (DTY) 1,430.00p -0.97%
Regus (RGU) 171.30p -0.93%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 104.00p -0.86%
Infinis Energy (INFI) 209.30p -0.81%
Diploma (DPLM) 674.00p -0.66%
Cranswick (CWK) 1,300.00p -0.61%