London midday: Stocks little changed ahead of ECB
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Thursday 14 Apr 2022
(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still just in the red by midday on Thursday as investors eyed the latest policy announcement from the European Central Bank.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 7,576.17.
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "The ECB doesn't appear to have the luxury of doing nothing, yet this is what we can probably expect when President Lagarde holds her press conference later today, against a backdrop of rising discontent amongst countries like Germany and the Netherlands, about ECB inaction.
"Of all the central banks now, the ECB probably has the most difficult task, trying to navigate the complex intricacies of a CPI inflation spread between eurozone members of 4.5% in France, to 15.2% in Estonia.
"This helps explain why, in recent years, the ECB has managed to turn procrastination into an art form, with a degree of linguistic legerdemain that would make a politician proud.
"This cannot continue and at some point, the ECB will have to bite the bullet and set out a timeline for a rate hike. Lagarde will also have to fend off questions on how the ECB would deal with a widening of bond spreads, fully aware of the fact that she is currently limited in options on how to achieve that.
"She certainly can't use the answer she used at her first press conference, that the ECB is not here to close spreads!"
In equity markets, broadcaster ITV was the worst performer on the FTSE 100 as it traded without entitlement to the dividend.
Gold miner Petropavlovsk - which has operations in Russia - slid after saying it was considering the sale of its operating subsidiaries. The company said it has appointed AlixPartners to assist the board as it explores its options and determines the course of action in the best interest of all stakeholders, including creditors and shareholders.
Last month, the UK imposed sanctions on Russia's Gazprombank, with which Petropavlovsk has a $2000m loan. As a result of the sanctions, Petropavlovsk is prohibited for selling any gold to Gazprombank - its sole buyer - and cannot pay interest on its loan.
On the upside, East European low-cost carrier Wizz Air flew higher as it said it was expecting to ramp up capacity beyond pre-pandemic levels for its summer schedule as it forecast a better-than-expected final quarter. Travel-related shares in general were higher, with InterContinental Hotels, BA owner IAG, Premier Inn owner Whitbread, Upper Crust owner SSP and easyJet all up.
Dunelm rose as it said annual profit would match market expectations after a strong third quarter for the homewares retailer.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,576.17 -0.06%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,990.40 0.03%
techMARK (TASX) 4,400.87 0.06%
FTSE 100 - Risers
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 5,120.00p 2.69%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 143.58p 2.34%
Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,137.00p 1.82%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 8,548.00p 1.76%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 91.39p 1.51%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,691.00p 1.41%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,661.50p 1.31%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,848.00p 1.28%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,621.50p 1.09%
Entain (ENT) 1,540.50p 1.08%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
ITV (ITV) 76.22p -3.64%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 3,964.00p -2.94%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,564.50p -2.19%
BT Group (BT.A) 186.05p -1.56%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 147.40p -1.21%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,649.50p -1.20%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,421.00p -1.11%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,141.50p -1.04%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,764.20p -0.95%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,232.50p -0.95%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 3,155.00p 9.09%
SSP Group (SSPG) 237.70p 4.16%
Capricorn Energy (CNE) 204.20p 3.81%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 231.40p 3.40%
easyJet (EZJ) 572.80p 2.98%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,488.50p 2.51%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 1,147.00p 2.32%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 188.80p 2.28%
C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 195.30p 2.25%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 782.00p 2.22%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Polymetal International (POLY) 252.60p -6.51%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 328.80p -5.68%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 157.60p -5.29%
Ibstock (IBST) 166.10p -3.15%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 220.80p -2.82%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 143.70p -2.38%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 315.40p -2.23%
NB Private Equity Partners Ltd. (NBPE) 1,590.00p -2.15%
Investec (INVP) 478.10p -1.97%
Countryside Partnerships (CSP) 245.40p -1.92%
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