London open: Stocks edge up as housebuilders, Ocado rally
London stocks edged higher in early trade on Tuesday, helped along by a solid performance from the housebuilding sector, but with gains limited as investors keep an eye on Brexit developments.
At 0845 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 7,193.91, while the pound was down 0.1% against the dollar at 1.3183 and flat versus the euro at 1.1660.
Overnight, MPs voted 329-302 in favour of holding a series of non-binding ‘indicative votes’ on various Brexit options on Wednesday.
Kallum Pickering, senior economist at Berenberg, said that while this does not resolve the current Brexit impasse, it is a step in the right direction.
"As a majority members of parliament (MPs) are in favour of a) retaining close ties with the EU and b) preventing a no-deal hard Brexit, more power for parliament contains the risk of a hard Brexit," he said.
Pickering said the votes have three consequences. They temporarily take away May's prerogative to push her deal in parliament and block MPs’ efforts to debate and vote on alternatives to her deal and provide scope for parliament to hold so-called ‘indicative votes’ on alternative options including the customs union model, the Norway plus model, and a second referendum. In addition, they highlight the risk that the UK will need to ask the EU for a long Brexit delay if parliament cannot build a consensus around one of the alternative Brexit options or May’s deal by 12 April.
In equity markets, housebuilders were the best-performing sector, buoyed by a bullish note from HSBC, which upped its stance on Bovis Homes and Persimmon to 'buy' from 'hold'.
Crest Nicholson shares rose sharply after saying it had poached Peter Truscott from construction group Galliford Try to be its new chief executive, as well as giving investors an update on trading.
Galliford was weaker on the news, as Truscott has stepped down as chief executive with immediate effect. He will be succeeded by current group finance director Graham Prothero.
Ocado rallied to the top of the FTSE 100 as it won a contract to develop an online grocery business for Australian supermarket and liquor store operator Coles Group.
United Utilities was in the green as it said current trading was in line with its expectations for the year ending 31 March, but that earnings for the fiscal year would take a hit from the dry weather last summer.
Medical equipment maker Convatec was the standout gainer on the FSTE 250 after Sweden's Dagens Industri reported that Swedish private equity group EQT may consider a bid for the company.
Plumbing and heating products distributor Ferguson was under pressure as it said trading profit for the full year will be towards the lower end of analysts' expectations. Equipment rental firm Ashtead, which like Ferguson has a large presence in the US, also fell.
Irn-Bru maker AG Barr saw its shares lose some fizz as it posted a 5.6% rise in full-year revenue despite the introduction of the sugar tax and CO2 shortages, but a drop in statutory pre-tax profit due to a one-off past service pension charge.
IP Group was on the back foot after the release of its full-year results, as it highlighted a "disappointing" performance for 2018.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,193.91 0.23%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,815.40 0.08%
techMARK (TASX) 3,474.56 -0.11%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,308.20p 4.20%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,218.00p 3.11%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 607.20p 2.81%
Evraz (EVR) 608.00p 2.29%
Fresnillo (FRES) 868.00p 2.12%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 178.97p 1.85%
Just Eat (JE.) 739.20p 1.82%
NMC Health (NMC) 2,382.00p 1.62%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,736.50p 1.61%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 849.20p 1.15%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Ferguson (FERG) 4,708.00p -8.28%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,770.50p -2.98%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 510.00p -2.11%
CRH (CRH) 2,287.00p -2.06%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,129.50p -1.91%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 876.80p -1.81%
Barclays (BARC) 153.77p -1.09%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,655.50p -1.05%
BAE Systems (BA.) 452.30p -0.98%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,142.00p -0.83%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Convatec Group (CTEC) 146.97p 10.12%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 378.00p 6.46%
Redrow (RDW) 619.50p 2.86%
Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 1,111.00p 2.82%
Bellway (BWY) 3,039.00p 2.53%
McCarthy & Stone (MCS) 129.00p 2.38%
St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 394.95p 2.24%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 890.50p 1.93%
Premier Oil (PMO) 88.15p 1.73%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 93.25p 1.64%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Spectris (SXS) 2,506.00p -3.67%
UDG Healthcare Public Limited Company (UDG) 548.00p -3.52%
Sophos Group (SOPH) 299.60p -2.28%
Galliford Try (GFRD) 671.86p -2.11%
IP Group (IPO) 88.20p -2.10%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 280.40p -1.95%
888 Holdings (888) 157.10p -1.81%
Computacenter (CCC) 1,094.00p -1.79%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 238.80p -1.56%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 465.19p -1.53%