London open: Stocks edge up as investors sift through earnings
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Wednesday 20 Apr 2022
(Sharecast News) - London stocks edged higher in early trade on Wednesday as investors sifted through a raft of earnings news.
At 0905 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 7,616.32
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "The markets seem to be stuck in a bit of a holding pattern. They've absorbed the shock of Ukrainian conflict and seemingly shrugged it off, while also reacting calmly to an escalating cost of living crisis and new Covid disruption in China.
"It feels like something will have to give at some stage but when that might be and what the catalyst could be remains to be seen.
"The US offered some solace to investors yesterday thanks to some positive quarterly numbers. That changed after market hours as Netflix served up a shocker which had investors switching off from the shares in their droves."
In corporate news, Qinetiq rallied after the defence engineer lifted annual earnings guidance, as strong order intake boosted revenues.
Investment company Petershill Partners gained after it said that maiden results were ahead of expectations at the IPO.
On the downside, Centamin lost its shine after the gold miner said production fell in the first quarter, as planned.
Oxford Biomedica was trading lower after it said 2022 revenues were set to be lower on the year due to a pause in vaccine manufacturing.
Quilter - formerly Old Mutual - was in the red after it posted a 4% dip in first-quarter assets under management.
Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto slumped after it reported lower-than-expected iron ore shipments in the first quarter as it warned of inflationary risk, a resurgence of Covid lockdowns in China and the impact of a prolonged Russia-Ukraine war. Miners in general were weaker as copper prices fell, with Anglo American, Glencore and Antofagasta all down.
Online betting and gaming firm 888 Holdings was also in the red after it said that total revenues fell in the three months ended 31 March.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,616.32 0.20%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,922.69 -0.19%
techMARK (TASX) 4,410.31 0.05%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Kingfisher (KGF) 267.80p 3.08%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 6,082.00p 2.22%
SSE (SSE) 1,821.50p 2.04%
Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,267.00p 1.97%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,468.50p 1.77%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 3,090.00p 1.75%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 320.70p 1.71%
M&G (MNG) 213.10p 1.67%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 123.35p 1.56%
Unilever (ULVR) 3,473.50p 1.52%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,103.50p -3.46%
Fresnillo (FRES) 774.80p -2.66%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,983.00p -2.59%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 2,890.00p -2.36%
Anglo American (AAL) 4,076.50p -1.89%
Royal Mail (RMG) 333.80p -1.39%
Glencore (GLEN) 528.30p -1.36%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,667.50p -1.16%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,061.00p -0.96%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 3,768.00p -0.84%
FTSE 250 - Risers
JTC (JTC) 740.00p 3.79%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 347.80p 3.08%
Trainline (TRN) 283.70p 2.38%
Caledonia Investments (CLDN) 3,730.00p 1.91%
Petershill Partners (PHLL) 269.50p 1.89%
Darktrace (DARK) 390.80p 1.72%
Essentra (ESNT) 328.50p 1.55%
Man Group (EMG) 241.30p 1.51%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 167.80p 1.45%
Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 119.00p 1.19%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 129.30p -6.17%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 91.44p -6.04%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 601.00p -5.95%
Quilter (QLT) 139.20p -4.30%
Polymetal International (POLY) 230.00p -4.21%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 177.20p -2.48%
888 Holdings (888) 209.40p -2.24%
Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 160.20p -2.20%
Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 217.00p -2.03%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 246.00p -1.99%
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