London midday: Stocks maintain losses as miners retreat but retailers rally
London stocks were still in the red by midday on Wednesday as investors took profits following a solid session the day before which saw the energy sector propel the top-flight index to near seven-month highs.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 7,503.22, while sterling was flat against the dollar at 1.2938 and up 0.2% versus the euro at 1.1542 as the single currency slipped following a weaker-than-expected German Ifo reading.
On home turf, figures released by the Office for National Statistics earlier showed that UK government borrowing has fallen to its lowest level since 2002.
Borrowing in the latest full financial year to March 2019 was estimated to be £24.7bn, down £17.2bn from the previous year and the lowest yearly borrowing for 17 years. However, it was ahead of the £22.8bn forecast by the office of Budget Responsibility.
Public sector net debt, excluding public sector banks was £1,801bn, up £22.1bn on March 2018. That was slightly below the OBR's forecast of £1,803bn.
In March, the public sector borrowed £1.7bn, after the government spent more than it received in taxes and other incomes. That was well above March 2018’s figure of £800m and above a consensus for £400m.
Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said March's hike did not indicate a lagging economy.
"The jump in borrowing entirely reflects a £1.8bn increase in central government net investment, which is volatile and will boost the economy," he said.
In UK equity markets, Antofagasta lost ground as it reported copper production of 188,600 tonnes in its first quarter, which was in line with expectations and up 22.6% year-on-year, thanks to higher throughput and the anticipated higher grades, particularly at Centinela.
Miners were on the back foot on the whole, with BHP and Rio Tinto also lower as traders pointed to concerns about a reduction in Chinese stimulus.
There was some good news for retailers, however, with Primark owner Associated British Foods on the rise as it reported a drop in first-half earnings as the company's bottom line was hammered by one-off costs, but said full-year profits were still expected to be in line with the prior year's result.
Outside the FTSE 350, online fast fashion brand Boohoo also racked up gains as it posted a 38% jump in full-year pre-tax profit and a 48% increase in revenue amid growth across all three of its brands, with PrettyLittleThing a standout performer.
IG market analyst Chris Beauchamp said: "The leaner business model continues to be a success, and while the shares are already up over 50% since December, a run back to the highs of 2017 around 270p looks increasingly likely."
Over-50s specialist Saga got a boost from an upgrade to 'neutral' at JPMorgan Cazenove, which said the risk/reward is now more balanced as the market is well aware of the challenges facing the company. Hastings was also lifted by an upgrade to 'overweight' at JPM, which said it was a "long-term winner".
However, Anglo American was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'neutral' by the same outfit, along with Direct Line.
Building materials group CRH was in the green as posted a 7% jump in first-quarter like-for-like sales, said second-half earnings were set to be ahead of last year and extended its buyback programme. It also announced an agreement to divest its European Shutters & Awnings business to StellaGroup for more than €0.3bn.
Centamin shares shone as it said its Sukari gold mine produced 116,183 ounces of gold in the first quarter, above forecast of 105,000 - 115,000 ounces.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,503.22 -0.26%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,929.50 0.11%
techMARK (TASX) 3,586.07 0.31%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Land Securities Group (LAND) 932.00p 2.62%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 1,973.50p 2.17%
NMC Health (NMC) 2,676.00p 2.10%
Sage Group (SGE) 736.80p 2.08%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 8,375.00p 2.07%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,550.00p 1.76%
Pearson (PSON) 878.20p 1.27%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,185.00p 1.11%
SEGRO (SGRO) 678.00p 1.07%
CRH (CRH) 2,612.00p 1.04%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Anglo American (AAL) 2,113.00p -2.40%
Centrica (CNA) 105.35p -2.00%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 226.10p -1.87%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,320.00p -1.49%
WPP (WPP) 922.60p -1.45%
BP (BP.) 574.20p -1.42%
Fresnillo (FRES) 750.60p -1.24%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,053.50p -1.13%
BHP Group (BHP) 1,852.00p -1.04%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,397.00p -0.99%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 88.23p 10.51%
Vivo Energy (VVO) 131.95p 5.06%
Saga (SAGA) 60.40p 4.95%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 160.48p 3.60%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 995.90p 3.53%
Derwent London (DLN) 3,196.00p 3.36%
Sanne Group (SNN) 597.00p 3.11%
Great Portland Estates (GPOR) 755.80p 2.80%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,436.00p 2.57%
IMI (IMI) 1,065.00p 2.31%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Funding Circle Holdings (FCH) 281.50p -7.70%
IntegraFin Holding (IHP) 377.90p -2.57%
Hilton Food Group (HFG) 955.04p -2.55%
Royal Mail (RMG) 255.25p -2.32%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 245.00p -2.00%
CYBG (CYBG) 216.00p -1.86%
Kier Group (KIE) 343.20p -1.83%
Rank Group (RNK) 156.80p -1.75%
G4S (GFS) 227.80p -1.64%
Equiniti Group (EQN) 219.78p -1.62%