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London midday: Stocks pare losses as investors eye Sunak

By Michele Maatouk

Date: Thursday 24 Sep 2020

London midday: Stocks pare losses as investors eye Sunak

(Sharecast News) - London stocks had pared losses by midday on Thursday to trade a little lower amid ongoing concerns about rising Covid-19 infections and further restrictions, as investors eyed details of Chancellor Rishi Sunak's new measures to replace the furlough scheme.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 5,879.10.

Sunak announced on Wednesday that the Autumn budget - which had been due to take place next month - has been cancelled. The Treasury said it wasn't the time to be outlining long-term plans. Instead, Rishi will announce a new support package to replace the furlough scheme that finishes at the end of October.

Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said: "This is likely to feature more targeted support for sectors like hospitality and travel. It's clear on both sides of the pond that unless there is more fiscal support, the economic recovery will go into neutral and stall.

"Only three weeks ago the government implored us to get back to the office to support city centres - what's strange is that they did this without realising that cases would rise. Their risk tolerance for the spread is extremely low, which indicates a government operating on the fly."

Market participants will also be eyeing a speech by Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey at a webinar hosted by the North East England Chamber of Commerce. Speaking on a BCC webinar on Tuesday, Bailey pretty much ruled out the use of negative interest rates in the near term.

In equity markets, Smiths Group was in the red after it posted a drop in annual profit but reinstated its dividend and said business was stabilising.

Engine maker Rolls-Royce and GKN owner Melrose were under the cosh again amid concerns about the impact of Covid-19 on the airline industry.

British Airways and Iberia owner IAG, InterContinental Hotels and easyJet were also trading lower.

Cineworld sank after saying it swung to a loss in the first half after its cinemas were forced to close in March due to the pandemic and warned it would need to raise additional liquidity if its cinemas were shut again.

On the upside, housebuilders rallied on the back of a research note from Jefferies.

Pets at Home surged after saying full-year underlying pre-tax profit is set to be ahead of current market expectations of £73m as sales momentum returns across the business.

National Express was also up after it said in an update that it has traded slightly above its previously-guided base case.



Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 5,879.10 -0.34%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 16,968.35 -0.15%
techMARK (TASX) 3,735.75 -0.53%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Persimmon (PSN) 2,417.00p 3.91%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 455.10p 3.79%
Pearson (PSON) 524.20p 3.76%
NATWEST GROUP PLC ORD 100P (NWG) 100.95p 2.84%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 103.50p 2.73%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,177.00p 1.88%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,555.00p 1.80%
Barclays (BARC) 94.46p 1.68%
Evraz (EVR) 332.20p 1.65%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 864.20p 1.50%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,322.00p -7.68%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 96.94p -3.64%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 156.75p -3.48%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,561.50p -3.31%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,168.00p -3.03%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 951.50p -2.41%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 2,800.00p -2.27%
Homeserve (HSV) 1,245.00p -2.12%
Halma (HLMA) 2,214.00p -1.99%
Relx plc (REL) 1,713.00p -1.89%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Pets at Home Group (PETS) 370.00p 21.23%
National Express Group (NEX) 136.60p 9.28%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 186.30p 7.25%
Indivior (INDV) 123.60p 6.74%
Renishaw (RSW) 5,175.00p 5.74%
Bellway (BWY) 2,245.00p 5.50%
Redrow (RDW) 384.00p 5.44%
Vistry Group (VTY) 561.50p 3.22%
Great Portland Estates (GPOR) 562.20p 2.70%
Greencore Group (GNC) 102.60p 2.60%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Cineworld Group (CINE) 42.53p -12.35%
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 784.50p -5.77%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 175.90p -4.09%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 257.00p -4.03%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 529.80p -3.88%
Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 2,305.00p -3.35%
John Laing Group (JLG) 295.20p -3.34%
Liontrust Asset Management (LIO) 1,200.00p -3.23%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 97.22p -3.22%
Polypipe Group (PLP) 433.50p -2.58%

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