London open: Stocks edge up as coronavirus fears ease
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Wednesday 12 Feb 2020
(Sharecast News) - London stocks edged higher in early trade on Wednesday following an upbeat session in Asia, as investors took some comfort from signs that the coronavirus spread may be slowing.
At 0900 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 7,521.06.
Rabobank said the 'risk on' tone in markets appears to have been primarily driven by various reports from China that cases of the coronavirus have peaked.
"For example, China reported the lowest number of new virus cases since late January while one of its medical advisors has forecast that the epidemic will peak this month. However, the reality is that any figures from China should be treated with extreme caution given that official data from China is not always famed for its accuracy," it said.
"There are also reports of various companies re-starting production in China. However, we would suggest that some of this could be at the behest of the state - regardless of whether or not it has a negative effect when it comes to the spreading of the virus."
Investors were also mulling comments from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, who said on Tuesday that the Fed was "closely monitoring" the coronavirus and the impact it will have on Chinese and global economic growth.
"The dollar was lower yesterday because it felt like Jay Powell left the door slightly ajar for a rate cut this year," said London Capital Group analyst Jasper Lawler. "It seems that one possible cause for the Fed to adjust its plans and lower interest rates again is the coronavirus."
In equity markets, oil giant Shell was a high riser after an upgrade to 'buy' at HSBC, Virgin Money was boosted by an upgrade to 'buy' at Citi and Greencore was higher on the back of an upgrade to 'buy' at Berenberg.
Dunelm was on the front foot as the homeware retailer reported a rise in interim profit and revenue and said full-year pre-tax profit will be "slightly ahead" of the top of the latest range of analyst expectations.
On the downside, the previous day's big gainers, TUI and Ocado, were the biggest fallers.
Engineering firm Babcock was the worst performer on the FTSE 250 as it lowered its full-year profit guidance range due to contract award delays in its aviation division and write downs in oil and gas operations. The company said it now forecast underlying operating profit of ?540m compared with a previous range of ?540m - ?560m.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,521.06 0.29%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,786.36 0.65%
techMARK (TASX) 4,173.94 0.14%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,835.00p 1.43%
Flutter Entertainment (FLTR) 8,774.00p 1.32%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,006.00p 0.94%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,635.00p 0.80%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,068.00p 0.76%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,001.00p 0.72%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 151.30p 0.65%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,997.00p 0.58%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,173.50p 0.51%
Croda International (CRDA) 5,170.00p 0.49%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 929.60p -3.95%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,231.50p -1.83%
British Land Company (BLND) 572.80p -0.97%
Evraz (EVR) 388.40p -0.94%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 865.60p -0.85%
Tesco (TSCO) 251.80p -0.79%
CRH (CRH) 3,009.00p -0.76%
Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 784.60p -0.65%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 372.20p -0.61%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,974.00p -0.54%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 1,249.00p 4.00%
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 187.70p 3.76%
Greencore Group (GNC) 248.10p 3.72%
Finablr (FIN) 78.05p 2.70%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 934.00p 2.55%
PayPoint (PAY) 978.00p 2.52%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 312.00p 2.30%
Vivo Energy (VVO) 114.60p 2.14%
Cranswick (CWK) 3,788.00p 1.88%
Marston's (MARS) 107.10p 1.81%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Babcock International Group (BAB) 544.00p -2.23%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 375.60p -2.14%
Hyve Group (HYVE) 94.30p -1.77%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 133.30p -1.41%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 73.00p -1.28%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 176.10p -1.07%
PZ Cussons (PZC) 190.00p -1.04%
GCP Student Living (DIGS) 207.00p -0.96%
Hunting (HTG) 317.00p -0.94%
Elementis (ELM) 126.00p -0.87%
Email this article to a friend
or share it with one of these popular networks:
You are here: news
10 Lower Thames St,
London EC3R 6EN