London midday: Stocks hugging the flatline at the end of Q3
Stocks in London were trading on a mixed note in the last trading session of the third quarter after what Neil Wilson at Markets.com termed an "unedifying" televised debate between White House hopefuls Donald Trump and Joe Biden overnight.
"We await to see whether the spectacle has had any impact on the up to one in ten voters yet to make up their minds. As grandpa Wilson would have said, I hae ma doots," Wilson said.
"And as I keep saying, what matters will be turnout in key battleground states and for this Trump needs it to be as rancorous as possible to energise his base. There is talk Biden won’t want to do more debates – that would be a mistake and make him look worse than he does after a relatively successful outing for the Democrat nominee, given the low expectations."
Against that backdrop, as of 1235 BST, the FTSE 100 was drifting lower by 0.25% or 14.86 points to 5,882.71, alongside a 0.08% or 12.41 point gain for the FTSE 250 to 17,186.07.
In the background, sterling was down by 0.25% versus the Greenback at 1.2831, having started the session flat, while Brent crude oil futures were off by 1.4%, in part amid reports that Libyan oil production was slowly coming back online in the east of the country.
On home shores, the Office for National Statistics bumped up its estimate for second quarter UK GDP from -20.4% to -19.8%.
Linked to the above, Bank of England chief economist warned in a speech against the "economics of Chicken Licken", saying that unduly pessimistic portrayals of the economy's prospects risked becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Mortgage lender Nationwide meanwhile reported a 0.9% month-on-month increase in UK home prices which took the annual rate of gains to 5.0% - the highest since September 2016.
Also overnight, manufacturing and services sector Purchasing Managers Indices out of China for the month of September for the most part printed ahead of forecasts.
According to economists, the survey readings pointed to possible upside risks to estimates for third quarter GDP growth in the Asian giant.
A separate PMI for private sector manufacturing companies however dipped from 53.1 to 53.0, whereas the consensus had been for no change.
To take note of, after the close of trading in New York, a leading medical journal published positive results for an early stage clinical trial into biotechnology outfit, Moderna's, Covid-19 vaccine.
For later in the session, US consultancy ADP's monthly private sector payrolls report is due for release at 1415 BST.
European Central Bank chief, Christine Lagarde and ECB chief economist, Philip Lane, are also due to deliver speeches.
No tears at Boohoo, William Hill says 'yes'
Online fashion retailer Boohoo appeared to successfully navigate the media furore over the allegedly sub-standard working conditions at one of its suppliers, posting sharp increases in sales and profits for the half. The firm also guided higher for full-year sales growth.
William Hill agreed to be taken over by Caesars Entertainment in a £2.9bn deal that would see the enlarged group cash in on the rapidly expanding US sports betting market. "The William Hill board believes this is the best option for William Hill at an attractive price for shareholders," said William Hill chairman Roger Devlin.
Royal Dutch Shell said it was cutting 7,000 - 9,000 jobs globally as it responded to the global slump in oil prices and looked to reposition itself as a green energy provider. They would be implemented by 2022 and included 1,500 people who were taking voluntary redundancy, the company said in a trading update on Wednesday.
Food services group Compass reported an improvement in fourth quarter revenues as schools reopened after the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, but warned a winter outbreak could hamper the pace of recovery. The company on Wednesday said full year revenues would be 19% lower year on year, after a 36% decline in the final three months of the fiscal year and compared to a 44% slump in the third quarter.
UK defence electronics and countermeasures specialist Chemring's US subsidiary, CCM, has secured a $49.9m five-year so-called indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract from the US Navy for MJU-32/38 infrared decoy flares. A first batch of the flares worth $11.3m was to be delivered in financial years 2021 and 2022. CCM was also awarded a $33.6m delivery order by the US Air Force for MJU-53/B countermeasures under the terms of a separate three-year $90m IDIQ contract.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 5,884.45 -0.22%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,193.11 0.11%
techMARK (TASX) 3,739.99 -0.27%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 107.05p 1.71%
Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) 227.80p 1.61%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,618.00p 1.59%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 187.50p 1.27%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,479.00p 1.18%
National Grid (NG.) 895.00p 1.13%
British Land Company (BLND) 334.10p 0.91%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,569.50p 0.90%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 478.00p 0.89%
NATWEST GROUP PLC ORD 100P (NWG) 105.65p 0.86%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 133.05p -5.24%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,161.00p -3.89%
GVC Holdings (GVC) 989.20p -2.45%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 498.50p -2.29%
CRH (CRH) 2,795.00p -2.10%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,558.50p -2.07%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 2,837.00p -2.00%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 113.00p -1.99%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 3,028.00p -1.82%
BAE Systems (BA.) 480.10p -1.64%
FTSE 250 - Risers
888 Holdings (888) 256.50p 23.02%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 242.20p 4.26%
G4S (GFS) 197.10p 4.23%
Gamesys Group (GYS) 1,178.00p 4.06%
Chemring Group (CHG) 242.00p 3.64%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 278.40p 3.57%
Paragon Banking Group (PAG) 324.00p 2.86%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 283.00p 2.83%
Redrow (RDW) 406.00p 2.78%
Workspace Group (WKP) 528.50p 2.72%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
TP ICAP (TCAP) 231.20p -15.31%
SSP Group (SSPG) 171.40p -7.45%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 253.00p -4.71%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,245.00p -4.47%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 209.60p -3.94%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 58.60p -3.93%
Trainline (TRN) 357.20p -3.62%
WH Smith (SMWH) 931.00p -3.37%
FirstGroup (FGP) 37.42p -3.36%
National Express Group (NEX) 149.00p -2.74%