London open: Stocks edge higher as pound loses ground; RBS and IAG earnings in focus
London equity markets edged higher in early trade on Friday, helped along by a weaker pound.
At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.2% to 7,504.44, while the pound was down 0.3% versus the euro at 1.1267 and 0.5% weaker against the dollar at 1.3099.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "Sterling’s problems can arguably be traced back to yesterday’s retail sales survey from the CBI, which showed that, in October, high street sales plunged at their fastest rate since 2009 (i.e. the peak of the recession). That wiped out all of cable’s post-UK Q3 GDP reading gains on Thursday, and has sent the pound another half a percent lower this Friday, the currency now desperately trying to keep its head above $1.31."
There are no major UK data releases due but in the US, third-quarter GDP figures are out at 1330 BST, while the Michigan consumer sentiment index is at 1500 BST. Consensus for the GDP reading is of 2.5% compared with the previous report of 2.6%.
In corporate news, Royal Bank of Scotland was in the black after saying it swung to a profit of £392m in the third quarter versus a loss of £469m in the same period a year ago as restructuring and conduct costs fell.
IT infrastructure services provider Computacenter gained ground after saying overall revenue jumped 27% year-on-year in the third quarter, to £931m.
Temporary power provider Drax edged higher as it announced the appointment of Den Jones as interim chief financial officer from 1 November.
Specialty chemicals group Elementis rallied after saying it delivered "another good revenue performance" in the third quarter and that it remains on track overall, while insurer Hastings nudged up as it reported a rise in nine-month gross written premiums.
In broker note action, Compass was boosted by an upgrade to 'outperform' at RBC Capital Markets, while Aviva was higher after Barclays upped the stock to 'overweight'.
On the downside, British Airways and Iberia parent International Consolidated Airlines Group fell despite reporting a 20.7% jump in third-quarter operating profit to €1.46bn and saying operating profit for the full year should come in at around €3bn before exceptional items.
Shares in Tullow Oil gushed lower after the company said its Araku-1 exploration well in Suriname found no significant reservoir quality rocks, and is now being plugged and abandoned.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,504.44 0.24%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,142.64 -0.10%
techMARK (TASX) 3,502.20 0.05%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 288.50p 2.67%
GKN (GKN) 322.00p 1.77%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 207.60p 1.47%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,623.00p 1.44%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,281.00p 1.33%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 442.30p 1.28%
Diageo (DGE) 2,595.00p 1.17%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,946.00p 1.09%
Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) 443.90p 1.07%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,968.00p 1.03%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 651.00p -2.84%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 961.00p -2.58%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,396.50p -2.44%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,498.50p -1.88%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,350.50p -1.85%
Glencore (GLEN) 372.00p -1.78%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,357.00p -1.67%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,297.00p -1.37%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,317.00p -0.83%
Shire Plc (SHP) 3,496.00p -0.77%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Elementis (ELM) 286.40p 2.21%
Coats Group (COA) 87.00p 1.99%
Marshalls (MSLH) 484.20p 1.94%
Provident Financial (PFG) 896.50p 1.41%
PayPoint (PAY) 924.00p 1.20%
Computacenter (CCC) 1,017.00p 1.19%
Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 1,112.00p 1.18%
Worldwide Healthcare Trust (WWH) 2,587.00p 1.13%
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 645.00p 1.02%
Playtech (PTEC) 957.00p 0.95%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Tullow Oil (TLW) 174.60p -4.28%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 261.40p -2.97%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 343.20p -2.56%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 825.50p -2.54%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 184.80p -2.48%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 875.50p -2.12%
Evraz (EVR) 290.50p -1.92%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 206.70p -1.90%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 602.00p -1.87%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 223.00p -1.63%