London midday: FTSE touch higher but defence stocks surge
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Monday 17 Feb 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still just a touch firmer by midday on Monday, but defence firms powered ahead amid expectations of an increase in spending.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 8,744.62 , with trading expected to remain quiet as US markets will be closed for Presidents Day.
The Ukraine-Russia war was firmly in focus as European leaders gathered in Paris for an emergency summit on the conflict after the Trump administration said it was kicking off peace talks with Russia.
Scope Markets analyst Joshua Mahony said: "Talks over an end to the Ukraine-Russia war could take place in Saudi Arabia, but incredibly this could take place without Europe and even Ukraine itself. An interesting strategy considering the US will likely expect Europe to be the central pillars to any post war security arrangement.
"With European leaders heading to Paris in a bid to structure their response, there is a fear that the breakdown in military ties between the US and Europe will necessitate a huge ramp-up in defence spending, thus pushing debt and borrowing costs higher once again."
On home shores, the latest data from Rightmove showed that house price growth slowed in February as the stamp duty deadline loomed, but activity remained "robust".
House prices rose 0.5% on the month following a 1.7% increase in January. On the year, house prices were up 1.4% in February, down from 1.8% growth the month before.
The average price of a home stood at £367,994 this month, versus £366,189 in January.
Rightmove said price growth was muted for this time of year as new sellers lowered price expectations due to the looming stamp duty deadline and high competition.
It said the average number of available homes for sale per estate agency branch remained at a 10-year high, reducing sellers' pricing power.
Colleen Babcock, property expert at Rightmove, said: "New sellers are showing some pricing restraint after a fast start to the year, being mindful of both the high level of seller competition, and in England also of the looming stamp duty deadline and extra costs for some buyers. Agents report that some of the steam is coming out of new sellers' price expectations to fit the changing market conditions, which is a sensible reaction to attract buyer interest, and it will also help to support activity levels.
"The upcoming stamp duty deadline in England remains a key talking point, and while some movers may not be affected at all, others will be more severely impacted. We've previously suggested reforms such as regional variations in stamp duty charges to try and address some of the inequities in the current system. With the predicted conveyancing log-jam likely to cause some buyers to miss the deadline and end up paying more tax through no fault of their own, it would seem justifiable for the government to announce a short extension before the end of March."
In equity markets, defence firm BAE Systems was the top gainer on the FTSE 100, while Rolls-Royce also gained after Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was ready to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine if a peace deal with Russia is reached.
Qinetiq and Chemring also advanced.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "The possibility of increased military spending has underpinned the sector for some time, with the group being one of the preferred plays in the meantime, with Rolls-Royce also seeing the renewed interest lifting its shares by almost 2% and building on a gain of more than 90% over the last year."
Ukraine-based iron ore miner Ferrexpo was a high riser amid the prospect of a potential Russia-Ukraine peace deal.
Assura surged as it confirmed it has received four takeover proposals from US private equity firm KKR, the most recent of which valued the company at £1.56bn, and all of which have been rejected.
Moneysupermarket rallied as the price comparison site reported a jump in full-year profits and announced a share buyback programme of up to £30m.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,744.62 0.14%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,932.22 0.09%
techMARK (TASX) 4,757.57 0.12%
FTSE 100 - Risers
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,314.00p 7.00%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 442.10p 3.27%
Barclays (BARC) 303.45p 3.00%
Schroders (SDR) 382.20p 2.85%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 3,244.00p 1.69%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 633.40p 1.41%
Prudential (PRU) 736.60p 1.35%
St James's Place (STJ) 1,115.00p 1.18%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,490.50p 1.12%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 878.40p 1.00%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Spirax Group (SPX) 7,710.00p -2.59%
SEGRO (SGRO) 713.00p -2.52%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 23,170.00p -1.95%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 142.90p -1.85%
Unite Group (UTG) 866.00p -1.53%
Fresnillo (FRES) 787.00p -1.44%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 84.86p -1.42%
Croda International (CRDA) 3,200.00p -1.42%
Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 506.50p -1.27%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,053.00p -1.20%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 111.00p 15.15%
Assura (AGR) 43.72p 12.10%
Chemring Group (CHG) 337.00p 6.98%
Mony Group (MONY) 203.00p 6.90%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 117.50p 4.63%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 385.20p 4.56%
Primary Health Properties (PHP) 95.30p 3.87%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 258.50p 2.17%
Pollen Street Group Limited (POLN) 774.00p 2.11%
Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited (BSIF) 88.80p 2.07%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 22.18p -23.52%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 648.50p -6.22%
IP Group (IPO) 46.00p -5.74%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 190.80p -5.54%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 307.50p -2.44%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,161.00p -2.40%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 990.50p -2.03%
Genus (GNS) 1,834.00p -1.82%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,724.00p -1.60%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 5,550.00p -1.60%
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