London open: Stocks start weaker amid slew of earnings
By Josh White
Date: Wednesday 27 Apr 2022
(Sharecast News) - Stocks started weaker in London on Wednesday, following another rough and tumble session overnight on Wall Street, as investors sifted through a slew of earnings updates.
At 0829 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.51% at 7,348.85, and the FTSE 250 was 0.73% weaker at 20,342.79.
"European markets have opened mixed, as investors attempt to digest the slew of corporate earnings coming out from Europe and the US," said Interactive Investor head of investment Victoria Scholar.
"Aveva has slumped to the bottom of the UK index, while Lloyds has come out on top with the FTSE 100 back below 7,400 as the next near-term resistance level to watch.
"This follows a very weak session on Wall Street with the Nasdaq closing at its lowest level since December 2020.
"Shares in Tesla slumped 12% amid concerns that Elon Musk could sell some of his stake in the electric vehicle giant to fund his Twitter acquisition."
On the economic calendar, at 1100 BST the Confederation of British Industry will publish the results of its Distributive Trades survey for the month of April.
In the US, the main economic release will be the advanced report on foreign trade covering the month of March at 1330 BST.
Across the channel, European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde was set to participate at an event at Hamburg Harbour starting from 1130 BST, while investors would also be monitoring surveys on French and German consumer confidence for the months of April and May, respectively.
In equities, retail banking giant Lloyd's was up around 1% despite reporting a fall in first-quarter pre-tax profits, as higher net income was offset by an underlying impairment charge.
The UK-based bank posted profits of £1.6bn on Wednesday, up from £1.8bn a year earlier, and said the underlying impairment charge of £200.0m reflected a low incurred charge and limited impact from a revised economic outlook, including higher inflation offset by stronger house prices and unemployment.
Communications group WPP was just above the waterline, after it made a "strong start to the year", with like-for-like revenue guidance being raised from 5% to between 5.5% and 6.5% amid continued investment into growth.
Drax Group was ahead after it said that, after a strong first quarter, it expected 2022 adjusted EBITDA to be around the top end of the current range of analyst expectations.
On the downside, industrial software company Aveva was tumbling after it reported a "strong" close to the financial year just ended, with organic constant currency revenue growth coming in at 18% in the fourth quarter, although it warned of lower revenue growth and margins amid rising costs.
Persimmon was in the red after saying it was currently trading in line with expectations, with demand remaining strong and private average sales rates rising 2% year-on-year.
The housebuilder, which also highlighted its "robust" forward order book of roughly £2.8bn, anticipated full-year completions would be weighted towards the second half, with first half completions being lower than those delivered in 2021.
Elsewhere, Primary Health Properties was weaker after reporting "good progress" in converting its year-end pipeline into committed deals in its first quarter.
London Stock Exchange Group was falling after it reported "strong" financial and operational progress in the first quarter, with total income excluding recoveries up 6.3%.
The FTSE 100 exchange operator said it saw "good growth" across all divisions, with total income rising 6.8% adjusting for the actions taken in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Stationery and travel outlet chain WH Smith was slightly weaker, despite swinging to a profit for the half-year as air and rail passengers returned after Covid lockdowns.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,360.29 -0.35%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,407.79 -0.41%
techMARK (TASX) 4,272.86 -1.04%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Glencore (GLEN) 470.35p 4.67%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,527.00p 2.89%
Fresnillo (FRES) 788.00p 2.02%
Severn Trent (SVT) 3,113.00p 1.97%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 482.85p 1.90%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 46.75p 1.89%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,767.20p 1.61%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,355.50p 1.33%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,488.00p 1.33%
NATWEST GROUP PLC ORD 100P (NWG) 222.60p 1.04%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Aveva Group (AVV) 1,983.00p -13.33%
Schroders (SDR) 2,826.00p -4.72%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 940.20p -3.94%
Royal Mail (RMG) 338.50p -3.75%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 83.61p -3.71%
Rightmove (RMV) 604.60p -3.36%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,972.00p -3.29%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 6,148.00p -2.66%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 7,946.00p -2.62%
Sage Group (SGE) 706.80p -2.62%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Drax Group (DRX) 825.00p 3.84%
UK Commercial Property Reit Limited (UKCM) 92.20p 3.25%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 498.90p 2.57%
Beazley (BEZ) 409.20p 2.45%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 981.00p 2.19%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 1,543.00p 2.05%
Ultra Electronics Holdings (ULE) 3,220.00p 2.03%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 232.00p 1.53%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 246.40p 1.48%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 53.30p 1.43%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 453.80p -4.86%
Chrysalis Investments Limited NPV (CHRY) 158.40p -4.69%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 1,195.00p -4.40%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 177.20p -4.22%
Softcat (SCT) 1,417.00p -4.13%
Spectris (SXS) 2,618.00p -4.10%
Man Group (EMG) 228.30p -3.67%
Rank Group (RNK) 106.20p -3.28%
Blackrock Throgmorton Trust (THRG) 655.00p -3.11%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 7,225.00p -3.09%
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