London open: FTSE gains ahead of busy week
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Monday 28 Apr 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Monday as investors eyed a busy week, with UK banks and US tech giants due to report.
At 0845 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 8,448.50.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "An uneasy calm has descended on markets, with a sense that no news is good news in respect of any further tariff announcements for the time being at least.
"Left to their own devices without the major distractions of the confusing messages emanating from the White House, investors have gone back to their knitting temporarily and markets have edged slightly higher as a result, although not by enough to repair the damage which has already been wrought."
Hunter pointed to a busy reporting week to come domestically, with updates from the oil majors and the pharmaceuticals, as well as a half-year report from Primark owner Associated British Foods.
"However, the first quarter reporting season from the UK banks is likely to top the agenda. Each has had a strong share price run leading into the numbers, with the recent read across from the US banks providing some comfort. That being said, and as with their Stateside peers, outlook comments are likely to be highly cautious given the current global backdrop and any notable increases in impairment provisions would likely be met with some disappointment."
In the US, meanwhile, tech results will be in focus, with earnings due from Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and Apple.
On the UK corporate front, Deliveroo surged after it announced late on Friday that it had received a £2.7m takeover proposal from US rival DoorDash that it was minded to recommend.
Marks & Spencer was in the red as it continued to deal with the impact of a cyber attack which has led the retailer to pause online orders.
Inchcape was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'neutral' at BNPP Exane, while Man Group fell after a downgrade to 'neutral' at JPMorgan.
Fintech group Plus500 nudged lower despite saying it expects 2025 results to be ahead of current market forecasts after an "excellent" start to the year, driven by recent macroeconomic and financial market conditions.
The company, which operates proprietary tech-based trading platforms, reported revenues of $205.8m over the first three months of the year, up 13% on the fourth quarter but 5% behind last year.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,448.50 0.40%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,733.82 0.63%
techMARK (TASX) 4,488.30 0.69%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Entain (ENT) 609.20p 3.57%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 439.50p 2.35%
Diageo (DGE) 2,100.00p 1.69%
easyJet (EZJ) 496.20p 1.47%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 78.62p 1.39%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,064.00p 1.35%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,230.00p 1.23%
Fresnillo (FRES) 994.50p 1.22%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,003.50p 1.22%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 7,936.00p 1.15%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 374.50p -2.98%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,083.50p -0.69%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 803.00p -0.43%
Rightmove (RMV) 715.20p -0.33%
3i Group (III) 4,196.00p -0.31%
Tesco (TSCO) 356.90p -0.28%
Relx plc (REL) 3,993.00p -0.25%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 6,938.00p -0.23%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 259.60p -0.15%
SEGRO (SGRO) 690.80p -0.14%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Deliveroo Class (ROO) 170.00p 15.96%
Indivior (INDV) 848.00p 3.99%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,663.00p 2.84%
Chemring Group (CHG) 397.00p 2.72%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 70.90p 2.68%
AO World (AO.) 97.20p 2.32%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 281.50p 2.21%
SSP Group (SSPG) 143.40p 2.21%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 366.60p 2.17%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 274.60p 2.16%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 91.70p -1.40%
Inchcape (INCH) 642.00p -1.23%
BH Macro Ltd. GBP Shares (BHMG) 394.50p -1.13%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 3,020.00p -0.92%
Currys (CURY) 104.80p -0.76%
Ruffer Investment Company Ltd Red PTG Pref Shares (RICA) 278.00p -0.71%
Patria Private Equity Trust (PPET) 565.00p -0.70%
North Atlantic Smaller Companies Inv Trust (NAS) 3,600.00p -0.55%
Drax Group (DRX) 594.50p -0.50%
RIT Capital Partners (RCP) 1,840.00p -0.43%
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