London open: Stocks edge lower amid Brexit concerns
London stocks drifted a little lower in early trade on Tuesday, with all eyes on Brexit talks as Prime Minister Boris Johnson was set to meet EU Commission president Ursula Von Der Leyen in Brussels.
At 0845 GMT, the FTSE 100 was 0.2% lower at 6,542.50, while sterling was down 0.3% against the dollar and the euro at 1.3339 and 1.1019, respectively, having tumbled a day earlier on the back of reports that Johnson was ready to pull out of Brexit talks "within hours" over EU demands.
Johnson and Von Der Leyen are due to meet on Wednesday or Thursday.
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "If the PM thinks a visit to Brussels is worthwhile then that would suggest the doorway to a deal remains open.
"When looked at through this prism, and with the clock counting down, it’s almost incomprehensible that none of the divisions that have been quite visible for months now, aren’t any closer to being bridged, which would appear to suggest that a deal seems as far away as ever. Perhaps, in these strange pandemic afflicted times, this is what the choreography of a deal looks like, with both sides playing to their own domestic agendas, cognisant of the fact that for the sake of a small compromise on either side the route to a deal still remains within touching distance."
In equity markets, InterContinental Hotels was weaker after a downgrade to ‘underperform’ at Jefferies.
Oil giants BP and Shell fell, along with engine maker Rolls-Royce.
Energean slid after Third Point Hellenic Recovery placed around 6m shares in the company.
On the upside, SSE and National Grid rose as Ofgem said it would cut the amount of money that energy networks can give to shareholders by less than initially set out. The energy regulator said companies would be allowed to pay a return on equity of 4.3%, up from a previous 3.95%.
Equipment rental firm Ashtead surged after it said full-year results were set to be ahead of its previous guidance.
Plumbing and heating products supplier Ferguson gained after it reported a rise in first-quarter core earnings and revenue, driven by a strong performance in all regions.
Euromoney was also in the black after it announced the acquisition of WealthEngine, a US SaaS platform providing data-driven intelligence and predictive analytics to wealth managers, luxury brands and not-for-profit organisations, for $14.5m.
Housebuilders advanced, having taken a big hit on Monday on Brexit worries, with Berkeley, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Barratt all higher. Taylor Wimpey was also boosted by an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Deutsche Bank.
Virgin Money was on the front foot after an initiation at ‘buy’ by Liberum.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,542.50 -0.20%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,921.13 -0.04%
techMARK (TASX) 4,084.53 -0.21%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Ashtead Group (AHT) 3,385.00p 4.83%
SSE (SSE) 1,404.00p 2.97%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 5,854.00p 2.70%
National Grid (NG.) 877.20p 2.00%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 355.50p 1.98%
Experian (EXPN) 2,731.00p 1.83%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 37.90p 1.53%
Ferguson (FERG) 8,572.00p 1.08%
Next (NXT) 6,716.00p 1.05%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 164.20p 1.05%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,831.00p -2.46%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 401.50p -2.44%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,409.50p -1.12%
Flutter Entertainment (FLTR) 14,835.00p -1.10%
Evraz (EVR) 420.70p -1.04%
BP (BP.) 271.15p -0.97%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 129.70p -0.88%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,345.80p -0.87%
Kingfisher (KGF) 263.20p -0.87%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 475.90p -0.85%
FTSE 250 - Risers
PureTech Health (PRTC) 318.00p 4.26%
Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 971.00p 3.30%
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 133.85p 3.00%
IP Group (IPO) 95.20p 2.92%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 201.40p 2.34%
Countryside Properties (CSP) 440.40p 2.32%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 63.66p 2.25%
TP ICAP (TCAP) 230.60p 2.04%
National Express Group (NEX) 249.20p 1.96%
Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 254.50p 1.80%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Energean (ENOG) 706.40p -10.02%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 455.30p -2.36%
SSP Group (SSPG) 351.00p -2.28%
Law Debenture Corp. (LWDB) 641.00p -2.14%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 305.00p -1.74%
Greencore Group (GNC) 121.50p -1.70%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 173.00p -1.48%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 80.45p -1.47%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 30.40p -1.46%
easyJet (EZJ) 884.20p -1.45%