London midday: Stocks little changed as investors pause for breath
London equity markets were little changed by midday on Wednesday as investors paused for breath following recent gains, with property stocks under pressure after a downbeat update from Intu Properties.
The FTSE 100 was 0.1% lower at 7,384.40.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: "You can almost feel the enthusiasm drain away from the equity market. It is probably just some overtiredness, or disappointment at the lack of fresh trade war headlines, but stocks seem unable to keep moving higher. After the gains of the past month, this is hardly surprising, and, as suspected, the Vix is also beginning to move higher.
"The foundations of some mid-November volatility are being laid, even if this will merely provide a buying opportunity further down the line. After last week’s action-packed few days, this week is a damp squib by comparison, leaving stock markets at risk of some near-term downside."
On the corporate front, BT was the worst performer on the top-flight index after Virgin Media said it had agreed a five-year deal to switch its more than 3 million mobile customers to the Vodafone network once its agreement with BT runs out.
British Land, Land Securities and Hammerson were all weaker after shopping centre owner Intu Properties said rental income for the year was set to drop and that it was considering a cash call amid tough trading conditions in the retail sector.
On the upside, Marks & Spencer rallied despite posting a 2% decline in interim revenue due to weaker home and clothing sales and a 17% drop in profits before tax and adjusted items. Food like-for-like sales grew 0.9% driven by volume, while clothing & home like-for-like sales fell 5.5%, reflecting "first half shape of buy and supply chain issues", M&S said.
Group revenue fell to £4.8bn from £4.9bn. Pre-tax and adjusted items profit was £176.5m, down from £213m a year earlier.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "For some considerable time, the company has been split between a food business which has continued to deliver and a general merchandising arm whose performance has been plodding and dowdy.
"This update shows some determination to put things right, from the design of lines through to the supply chain, but the company is playing catch-up with a fiercely competitive and evolving sector. The 5.5% like-for-like sales decline in sales is a stark reminder of the challenges ahead. M&S has reported that October was a positive month, but one swallow does not a summer make and this trend will need to be established as the norm before winning over investors."
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,384.40 -0.05%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,187.69 -0.53%
techMARK (TASX) 3,944.39 -0.33%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,794.60p 2.60%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,831.97p 1.47%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,056.00p 1.43%
Evraz (EVR) 382.20p 1.38%
BAE Systems (BA.) 580.60p 1.33%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,403.38p 1.24%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,660.11p 1.19%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 5,919.00p 1.01%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 546.80p 0.85%
Ferguson (FERG) 6,690.00p 0.81%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
BT Group (BT.A) 194.36p -4.07%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 738.80p -2.74%
British Land Company (BLND) 588.00p -2.62%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,760.00p -1.90%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,338.50p -1.58%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,384.00p -1.55%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 6,858.00p -1.49%
ITV (ITV) 133.55p -1.37%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 905.00p -1.27%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 167.90p -1.26%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 432.10p 3.30%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 3,726.00p 3.21%
Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 234.69p 3.16%
Softcat (SCT) 1,075.08p 2.68%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 187.13p 2.62%
Ultra Electronics Holdings (ULE) 2,014.00p 2.55%
Riverstone Energy Limited (RSE) 478.50p 2.24%
PayPoint (PAY) 905.00p 2.03%
Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 124.00p 1.64%
Senior (SNR) 190.60p 1.38%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Hammerson (HMSO) 279.00p -4.02%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 2,950.00p -3.28%
NewRiver REIT (NRR) 193.55p -3.23%
GVC Holdings (GVC) 798.90p -2.93%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 120.40p -2.90%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 211.60p -2.67%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 512.00p -2.66%
Beazley (BEZ) 567.50p -2.58%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 367.50p -2.55%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 365.70p -2.43%