LONDON (ShareCast) - UK stocks opened broadly flat on Thursday morning as a disappointing earnings report from the world's largest technology company weighed on sentiment early on.

US tech titan Apple saw shares tumble after the closing bell in New York last night after its fiscal first-quarter results missed forecasts. Revenue came in at a record $54.5bn but less than the $55bn expected.

Shares fell as much as 10% in after-market trading after Apple revealed flat profits and lower-than-expected iPhone sales. Analysts predicted that iPhone sales would break the 50m mark, following the release of the iPhone5 in September, but Apple reported sales of 47.8m during the quarter.

"The bulls and bears are in that case involved in a tug-of-war, leaving European markets flipping between small gains and losses. Apple's disappointing 4Q earnings release out after the US closing bell placed a degree of pressure on US futures overnight and hampered enthusiasm in Asian markets too," said market strategist Ishaq Siddiqi from ETX Capital.

"Apple reported its slowest profit growth since 2003; expect weakness in European tech stocks today as a result," he said.

In other news, the Chinese HSBC flash manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to a two-year high of 51.9 in January, from 51.5 the month before. Analysts were expecting a figure of 51.7.

"The increase was driven by domestic demand, which should ease some fears from some that a lack of external demand, due to the slowdown in the US and the Eurozone, would make the recent improvement in China unsustainable," said chief market analyst James Hughes from Alpari.

"That being said, we’re going to have to see more numbers like this in the months ahead before we get carried away with the data."

Markets were also digesting a barrage of economic data from Europe this morning: services and manufacturing data from France missed expectations, while figures from Germany and the wider Eurozone in general managed to beat forecasts. Jobless claims and manufacturing data from the US is due out later on.

ARM, Imagination hit after Apple disappoints

Chip designers ARM Holdings and Imagination Technologies was heavy faller this morning after Apple disappointed the market last night.

Utilities stocks were providing a lift this morning after a series of broker upgrades. HSBC upped its rating for Centrica to 'overweight', while Bank of America Merrill Lynch raised its recommendation for both Severn Trent and United Utilites to 'neutral'.

Budget airline easyJet was flying high after total revenue jumped 9.2% to £833m in the first quarter. CEO Carolyn McCall said: "easyJet has made a strong start to the year due to a combination of management action, competitor capacity reductions and the benign operating environment."

High Street bakery Greggs gained after appointing Roger Whiteside, the current Punch Taverns CEO, as its new frontman. The pubs group saw shares tumble however.

Drinks group AG Barr rose after saying that sales in the final quarter of the year are expected to rise 5%, with full-year sales up 7%.

High Street betting shop Ladbrokes impressed with its acquisition of Global Betting Exchange Alderney (GBEA) for €30m, which will see it get its hands on the Betdaq exchange, accelerating the firm's strategy to grow digital revenues through technology investment.

Transport group FirstGroup was higher after third-quarter trading was in line with expectations, with like-for-like passenger revenue up 2.1% in the UK bus division.

FTSE 100 - Risers
Croda International (CRDA) 2,421.00p +2.67%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,694.00p +1.50%
Severn Trent (SVT) 1,624.00p +1.25%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,542.00p +1.17%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 727.50p +1.04%
Pearson (PSON) 1,180.00p +1.03%
WPP (WPP) 966.50p +0.99%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 724.50p +0.98%
Next (NXT) 4,045.00p +0.95%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,886.00p +0.91%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
BAE Systems (BA.) 339.00p -0.82%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 843.00p -0.77%
BT Group (BT.A) 248.90p -0.72%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 376.40p -0.71%
Serco Group (SRP) 558.00p -0.71%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,173.00p -0.68%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 830.50p -0.60%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,361.00p -0.58%
Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 339.20p -0.56%
Tesco (TSCO) 350.85p -0.55%

FTSE 250 - Risers
easyJet (EZJ) 885.00p +3.51%
Ladbrokes (LAD) 206.30p +3.46%
Chemring Group (CHG) 292.00p +3.36%
Pace (PIC) 226.60p +3.00%
St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 231.50p +2.84%
Heritage Oil (HOIL) 200.00p +2.72%
Britvic (BVIC) 439.90p +2.28%
William Hill (WMH) 364.50p +2.24%
Electra Private Equity (ELTA) 2,137.00p +2.20%
Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 103.50p +2.17%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
ICAP (IAP) 312.20p -4.56%
Laird (LRD) 223.80p -3.37%
Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 244.50p -3.32%
Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 449.20p -3.21%
Afren (AFR) 147.50p -2.96%
Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 373.80p -1.89%
Kentz Corporation Ltd. (KENZ) 420.50p -1.29%
Morgan Crucible Co (MGCR) 284.80p -1.18%
Mondi (MNDI) 713.50p -1.18%
Kenmare Resources (KMR) 33.97p -1.11%

BC

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