Date: Wednesday 20 May 2015
LONDON (ShareCast) - UK stocks edged higher on Wednesday morning though a raft of disappointing blue-chip earnings limited upside for the FTSE 100.
The Footsie was up just 0.02% at 6,996.36 early on with Vodafone leading the way on the back of speculation surrounding a Liberty Global merger.
However, results and updates from Burberry, Marks & Spencer, SSE and Hargreaves Lansdown underwhelmed investors.
"The FTSE is showing the same limpness that defined much of its Tuesday this morning, with little to boost the UK index immediately after the bell," said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell.
Worries surrounding Greece's ability to make its next repayment to the International Monetary Fund on 5 June were weighing on sentiment across Europe, he said.
Wednesday's session is set to be quieter in terms of economic data with minutes of the Bank of England's latest policy meeting likely to steal the spotlight. They are due for release at 09:30.
Burberry, M&S, SSE and HL underwhelm
Shares in luxury retailer Burberry slumped 4% after the company cautioned that it was seeing increased uncertainty in some of its markets and warned over the potential impact of currency movements. It now expects earnings this year to be around £40m less than previously estimated due recent sterling strength.
M&S underwhelmed despite returning to profit growth after four years and announcing a £150m capital return to shareholders and a 5.9% increase in the total dividend. Independent retail analyst Nick Bubb said the return of the cash was a "bit less than some had hoped".
Annual profits crawled slightly higher at SSE, though the utility company disappointed with its warning that dividend cover would fall due to the pressure of "significant uncertainties" on earnings.
Financial services provider Hargreaves Lansdown reported a record level of inflows over the first four months of 2015, but shares fell as the company said revenue headwinds limited year-to-date top-line growth to just 0.7%.
Vodafone was making decent gains, rebounding after Tuesday's falls following its annual results, as the owner of Liberty Global said the UK telecom would be a "great fit" to the business.
Allied Minds dropped on reports that Invesco raised £90.4m from selling shares in the investment firm at a price of just 565p per share, compared with Tuesday's closing price of 634.60p.
Market Movers
techMARK 3,258.47 +0.15%
FTSE 100 6,996.36 +0.02%
FTSE 250 18,158.86 -0.10%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Vodafone Group (VOD) 233.50p +3.04%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,504.00p +1.28%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,148.00p +0.94%
GKN (GKN) 369.60p +0.90%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,508.00p +0.87%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 621.60p +0.79%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,869.00p +0.77%
3i Group (III) 552.00p +0.73%
Barclays (BARC) 264.60p +0.72%
Sage Group (SGE) 574.00p +0.61%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,736.00p -3.98%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,262.00p -1.41%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,633.00p -1.31%
Old Mutual (OML) 233.10p -1.27%
SSE (SSE) 1,676.00p -1.18%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,347.00p -1.17%
BT Group (BT.A) 461.40p -1.08%
Hammerson (HMSO) 696.50p -0.99%
ITV (ITV) 267.70p -0.96%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 580.00p -0.94%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 594.00p +6.36%
Aveva Group (AVV) 2,044.00p +6.18%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 402.00p +2.55%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 533.50p +1.91%
Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 1,728.00p +1.77%
ICAP (IAP) 565.50p +1.71%
Just Retirement Group (JRG) 176.80p +1.61%
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 823.00p +1.54%
Renishaw (RSW) 2,503.00p +1.54%
Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 298.60p +1.53%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Allied Minds (ALM) 590.00p -9.23%
Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 66.15p -3.08%
BTG (BTG) 689.00p -2.75%
Great Portland Estates (GPOR) 853.00p -2.57%
Zoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 224.20p -2.52%
PayPoint (PAY) 893.50p -2.46%
Britvic (BVIC) 749.00p -2.22%
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 600.00p -2.20%
Elementis (ELM) 307.00p -2.17%
Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 105.20p -2.14%
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