London open: Stocks edge higher but Micro Focus and Amigo tumble
London stocks rose in early trade on Thursday, but gains were muted as investors continued to fret about a possible no-deal Brexit on the back of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament.
At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 7,126.24, while the pound was down 0.1% against the dollar and the euro at 1.2198 and 1.1009, respectively.
Oanda analyst Craig Erlam said: "While proroguing Parliament isn't itself unusual, this will be the longest suspension since 1945 and comes at a rather suspicious time.
"Despite what number 10 would have us believe, it's quite clear that this move is a highly political one aimed at preventing MPs from blocking no-deal, forcing individuals to show their hand and at the same time, sending a message to Brussels that the government is serious about leaving on 31 October.
"Naturally, the more convincing Boris is, the faster the pound falls. Put simply, no-deal is the most severe form of Brexit and until we better understand how it will be handled, worst case scenario's will continue to be priced in. Brexit may have already taken a heavy toll on sterling but darker days probably lie ahead for the currency."
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell attributed the positive tone to "hints" regarding the Sino-US trade war.
"While Trump’s team weren’t particularly enthusiastic in their most recent comments - Stephen Mnuchin said that Washington is ‘planning’ for a Chinese visit at some indeterminate point in the future, while Peter Navarro was keen to state that ‘it’s unlikely anything quick will happen’ considering the ‘structural basis of the problems - investors appear to have taken heart from the morning’s commerce ministry briefing from Beijing," he said.
"China reiterated that it is opposed to further trade war escalation, and that the two sides remain in contact with the aim of continuing negotiations, perhaps in September."
In corporate news, AstraZeneca gained after saying that its drug to treat moderate-to-severe lupus met the main goal in a late-stage study.
Imperial Leather maker PZ Cussons ticked higher as it agreed to sell its Greek food subsidiary Minerva and its Polish personal care brand Luksja.
On the downside, Micro Focus shares tumbled after it said weak sales had forced it to revise its revenue forecasts even lower and accelerate a review of the company. The software maker said revenue on a constant currency basis for the year ending to October 31 would be 6% - 8% lower compared with previous guidance of a fall of 4% - 6%.
Amigo Holdings also saw its shares plummet as its first-quarter results disappointed due to higher impairments and costs.
Energy services group Hunting lost ground even as it reported a rise in half-year profit and revenue despite "difficult" market conditions.
Recruiter Hays was in the red after it posted a rise in full-year net fees but a drop in pre-tax profit on the back of restructuring and pension costs, and highlighted tough conditions in the UK and Germany.
Ex-dividends weighed, as is usually the case on a Thursday, with St James’s Place, Hammerson, Auto Trader, Capital & Counties, Centamin, Charter Court Financial, Hochschild Mining, InterContinental Hotels, John Wood Group, LondonMetric Property, National Express, OneSavings Bank, Plus500, Polypipe, Quilter, Rotork, Tullow Oil and Ultra Electronics all in the frame.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,126.24 0.16%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,153.49 -0.26%
techMARK (TASX) 3,784.89 -0.57%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,595.00p 2.34%
Fresnillo (FRES) 740.20p 1.68%
Just Eat (JE.) 779.20p 1.59%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 7,350.00p 1.16%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 2,155.00p 1.03%
Carnival (CCL) 3,394.00p 0.83%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 827.20p 0.71%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,798.00p 0.61%
BT Group (BT.A) 163.58p 0.60%
Ferguson (FERG) 5,854.00p 0.58%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 1,134.60p -27.05%
St James's Place (STJ) 910.40p -2.15%
NMC Health (NMC) 2,342.60p -1.20%
Centrica (CNA) 66.90p -0.92%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 607.20p -0.56%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,708.60p -0.52%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 523.60p -0.46%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 181.80p -0.44%
Aviva (AV.) 352.20p -0.37%
Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) 245.50p -0.37%
FTSE 250 - Risers
PureTech Health (PRTC) 283.00p 4.43%
Homeserve (HSV) 1,134.00p 4.23%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 468.60p 2.05%
Rank Group (RNK) 170.20p 1.79%
Computacenter (CCC) 1,345.00p 1.66%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 166.80p 1.58%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,200.00p 1.44%
Intu Properties (INTU) 38.69p 1.28%
Paragon Banking Group (PAG) 430.40p 1.13%
IP Group (IPO) 56.30p 1.08%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Amigo Holdings (AMGO) 119.22p -18.45%
Hunting (HTG) 410.00p -4.61%
Hammerson (HMSO) 217.84p -3.61%
PayPoint (PAY) 876.00p -3.52%
Hays (HAS) 134.90p -3.02%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 684.00p -2.56%
Ultra Electronics Holdings (ULE) 2,096.00p -2.42%
Hill & Smith Holdings (HILS) 1,131.00p -2.42%
AJ Bell (AJB) 390.50p -2.38%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 357.30p -2.08%