London open: Stocks edge lower on weak Asian cues
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Monday 09 May 2022
(Sharecast News) - London stocks edged lower in early trade on Monday, taking their cue from a downbeat Asian session after the release of disappointing Chinese trade data.
At 0845 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 7,364.96.
Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The week has got off to a negative start for the UK's market, a result of poor sentiment coming from the US and China. In the US, the trend has been negative for weeks, but had started to look brighter, before comments from the Bank of England at the end of last week about weak economic growth applied the brakes to momentum.
"Anxiety is stemming from the Fed's next moves, with uncertainty creeping in about the scale and speed of interest rate hikes. All this comes at the same time as China grapples with ongoing lockdowns and the prevailing economic storm these entail. We saw Chinese export growth slow to two-year lows in April. That said, there have been tentative hints that China is stepping away from its blanket zero-Covid policy, which may mean an easing of the very tough conditions in the all-important production lines in the country.
"There are of course ongoing geopolitical tensions, with the situation in Ukraine far from resolved. Victory Day in Russia is likely to increase tensions, as the world waits to hear President Putin's long-awaited speech."
In equity markets, property firms Shaftesbury and Capital & Counties were both weaker as they confirmed they are in advanced discussions about a possible merger.
Responding to press speculation of a £3.5bn deal, they said: "The possible merger would create a REIT focused on the West End of London with a portfolio of circa 2.9 million square feet of lettable space located in high-profile destinations including Covent Garden, Carnaby, Chinatown and Soho.
"The combined ownership would comprise c.1.8 million square feet of retail and hospitality space, together with office and residential accommodation of c.1.1 million square feet."
Rightmove was in the red after it announced that chief executive Peter Brooks-Johnson will step down from the board and leave the company in the coming year.
Elsewhere, cyber security company NCC Group nudged up after saying it appointed a new chief executive and lifting revenue guidance for the second half of the year.
Energean rallied as the hydrocarbon exploration and production company said its Athena exploration well had made a commercial gas discovery off the coast of Israel.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,364.96 -0.31%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,640.50 -0.90%
techMARK (TASX) 4,274.89 -0.53%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 231.30p 1.49%
BAE Systems (BA.) 764.40p 1.11%
National Grid (NG.) 1,192.50p 1.10%
Shell (SHEL) 2,322.50p 1.00%
Relx plc (REL) 2,324.00p 0.74%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,323.00p 0.70%
BP (BP.) 428.70p 0.48%
Tesco (TSCO) 272.70p 0.48%
Experian (EXPN) 2,658.00p 0.45%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,944.00p 0.43%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Rightmove (RMV) 529.40p -5.26%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,405.50p -2.38%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,319.00p -2.22%
Royal Mail (RMG) 319.50p -2.20%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 814.20p -2.19%
Entain (ENT) 1,343.00p -2.04%
Aveva Group (AVV) 2,101.00p -2.01%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 7,160.00p -1.86%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 8,348.00p -1.79%
Glencore (GLEN) 478.90p -1.78%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Polymetal International (POLY) 276.00p 9.52%
Energean (ENOG) 1,361.00p 4.45%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 351.20p 3.11%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 230.80p 2.85%
Bankers Inv Trust (BNKR) 103.60p 1.57%
Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited NPV (SONG) 118.00p 1.55%
Clipper Logistics (CLG) 861.00p 1.41%
Darktrace (DARK) 430.40p 1.34%
Vivo Energy (VVO) 147.40p 1.10%
Greencore Group (CDI) (GNC) 109.80p 0.92%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 154.60p -6.53%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 143.90p -5.45%
Victrex plc (VCT) 1,728.00p -3.89%
Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 230.50p -3.56%
Future (FUTR) 1,960.00p -3.54%
Shaftesbury (SHB) 557.50p -3.38%
FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 920.00p -3.36%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 802.40p -3.30%
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 152.65p -3.29%
Safestore Holdings (SAFE) 1,096.00p -3.18%
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