London open: Stocks steady ahead of payrolls
London stocks were little changed in early trade on Friday as investors erred on the side of caution ahead of the latest non-farm payrolls report, with all eyes firmly on the US election results.
At 0850 GMT, the FTSE 100 was steady at 5,903.59.
Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM, said: "The outcome of this historic election remains on a knife-edge, with Donald Trump and Democrat challenger Joe Biden going toe to toe in key swing states. Investors across the globe are likely to adopt a guarded approach amid the cliffhanger vote count with full unofficial results from key swing states - Pennsylvania and Georgia - expected later today.
"Although Biden may clinch the presidency with just one more state, the race for the White House remains too close to call. Even if this becomes reality, concerns are elevated over Trump contesting the results of certain states, ultimately opening the door to more uncertainty. Given how officials have already warned that it may take days or even weeks for the final results amid the huge number of postal ballots, markets could be in for a rocky ride for the rest of 2020."
On home shores, Brexit was in focus again after the National Audit Office said UK trade with the EU will face "significant disruption" when the Brexit transition period ends. The watchdog said it was "very unlikely" traders would be ready for checks the EU is due to impose at its borders and cautioned there wasn’t much time for UK ports to test new IT systems.
On the macroeconomic front, the US non-farm payrolls report, unemployment rate and average earnings are all due at 1330 GMT.
In equity markets, RSA Insurance was in the spotlight after it confirmed it is in talks to sell itself for £7.2bn to a consortium comprising Canada's Intact Financial Corp and Tryg A/S of Denmark. The consortium has proposed paying 685p a share in cash for the FTSE 100 insurer. RSA would pay its proposed interim dividend of 8p a share.
The shares were down, having rocketed 46% into the close on Thursday on speculation of a takeover.
Other insurers were in the black, however, with Aviva, Legal & General, Prudential, Hiscox and Direct Line all up.
Marine services company James Fisher slid after it reported a decline in revenue as it said trading in the third quarter remained challenging due to Covid-related restrictions.
Global insurer Beazley was trading up as it said gross written premiums rose 16% in the year to date driven by rate increases across all its divisions.
Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casinos owner Rank Group rallied after saying it raised £70m in an equity placing to strengthen its balance sheet. The company placed 77.7m shares at 90p each, which is 4.3% premium to the closing share price on Thursday.
Housebuilder Redrow gained after it reported a rise in reservation values as customers look for homes with more space to work based on coronavirus lockdown experiences.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 5,903.59 -0.04%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,045.04 0.65%
techMARK (TASX) 3,752.98 -0.07%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Aviva (AV.) 282.00p 3.71%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 375.80p 2.48%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,476.50p 2.25%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 202.30p 2.17%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 164.85p 1.92%
Barclays (BARC) 112.26p 1.91%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,058.50p 1.83%
Prudential (PRU) 1,066.00p 1.81%
M&G (MNG) 156.70p 1.79%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,863.00p 1.75%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 72.08p -3.27%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 738.20p -1.84%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,377.50p -1.78%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,160.00p -1.63%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 8,401.00p -1.50%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 9,166.00p -1.33%
Aveva Group (AVV) 4,109.00p -1.27%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 297.60p -1.26%
National Grid (NG.) 938.40p -1.24%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 661.80p -1.22%
FTSE 250 - Risers
JPMorgan Emerging Markets Inv Trust (JMG) 1,206.00p 900.00%
Rank Group (RNK) 91.90p 6.49%
FirstGroup (FGP) 46.68p 4.95%
Just Group (JUST) 45.14p 3.96%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 929.00p 3.78%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 286.80p 3.43%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 219.00p 3.35%
Paragon Banking Group (PAG) 310.60p 3.05%
Redrow (RDW) 454.20p 3.04%
Coats Group (COA) 62.00p 2.99%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 960.00p -11.11%
Capita (CPI) 24.28p -2.37%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 213.60p -1.84%
easyJet (EZJ) 537.40p -1.76%
Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 76.30p -1.55%
AO World (AO.) 390.50p -1.51%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 9,166.00p -1.33%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 913.50p -1.30%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 3,574.00p -1.27%
Indivior (INDV) 115.00p -1.20%