London open: FTSE nudges lower amid Trump trade worries; Assura surges
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Monday 10 Mar 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks nudged lower in early trade on Monday as worries about Trump's trade war continued to dent sentiment.
At 0845 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 8,669.60.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Unease about the effect of Trump's tariffs hangs over financial markets at the start of the week. The prospect of a recession in the US is lurking, with consumer confidence falling, companies facing increasing trade complexity and investors turning more nervous. China's deflation problem is also weighing on sentiment, and geopolitical concerns are staying in focus, with attacks on Ukraine intensifying.
"The FTSE 100 is on the back foot in early trade, unable to shake off the nervousness surrounding the concerns about slowing global growth. Brent Crude, a gauge of expectation about the health of the global economy, has dipped back again, trading around $70 a barrel, as energy demand is expected to be weaker as economies slow.
"A disappointing snapshot from China, showing consumer price fell at the fastest rate in 13 months, is adding to concerns about weakness in the global economy. Deflation continues to stalk the Chinese economy, with consumers super-cautious about spending. The property crisis has battered wealth perceptions and led to risk averse behaviour, with wariness rising amid the ratcheting up trade tensions and fresh tariffs being imposed by the US.
"Efforts by authorities so far to reduce the cost of borrowing to stimulate growth have not had the desired effect. The expansion of a subsidy programme for a range of domestic goods underwhelmed, given the lack of more targeted support for households."
In equity markets, Assura surged after saying it was minded to recommend an improved, £1.61bn cash takeover proposal from investment firms KKR and Stonepeak.
The consortium has offered 49.4p per share, which is 2.9% increase on the previous proposal of 48p per share.
The company also said it had received and rejected an indicative, non-binding proposal from Primary Health Properties about a possible all-share combination with an implied value of 43p per share.
Watches of Switzerland rallied as it launched a £25m share buyback.
Deliveroo gained as it said it had decided to exit its Hong Kong operations through a sale of certain assets to Foodpanda and the closure of other assets.
Great Portland Estates rose after saying it had secured its largest fully managed deal to date, letting more than 11,500 sq ft of office space to FTSE 100 retailer Next in central London on a five-year term.
Pennon was also higher after an upgrade to 'buy' at Citi.
"Whilst the backdrop for the UK water sector remains uncertain, at the current share price, we believe the market is excessively discounting operational underperformance of over £500m in PNN shares, a quarter of its market cap," the bank said. "We see a valuation gap under our framework with the risk/reward balance skewed to the upside, providing an opportunity for a mean reversion trade."
On the downside, shipping services firm Clarkson tumbled as it said annual profits were in line with revised expectations, but also that the geopolitical outlook remains uncertain, with ongoing regional conflicts and trade tensions creating uncertainty for markets.
Underlying pre-tax earnings came in at £115.3m in line with upgraded guidance published in January. Revenue was up to £661m from £639m.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,669.60 -0.12%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,153.75 0.12%
techMARK (TASX) 4,806.80 -0.29%
FTSE 100 - Risers
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 79.80p 2.54%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,596.00p 1.84%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 324.10p 1.79%
Centrica (CNA) 148.65p 1.47%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 556.50p 1.37%
Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 522.00p 1.36%
Kingfisher (KGF) 262.60p 1.35%
Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 433.70p 1.33%
SEGRO (SGRO) 702.40p 1.30%
Croda International (CRDA) 3,286.00p 1.26%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 7,228.00p -2.51%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 5,324.00p -1.73%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 11,872.00p -1.66%
BT Group (BT.A) 157.60p -1.65%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,816.00p -1.55%
Barclays (BARC) 295.45p -1.10%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 450.70p -0.97%
Diageo (DGE) 2,156.00p -0.94%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,456.00p -0.81%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 4,482.00p -0.75%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Assura (AGR) 46.54p 14.24%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 39.00p 4.33%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 469.00p 3.99%
IP Group (IPO) 39.85p 3.37%
Primary Health Properties (PHP) 93.05p 2.82%
Pennon Group (PNN) 403.00p 2.70%
Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 81.25p 2.65%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 77.40p 1.71%
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 291.40p 1.67%
Zigup (ZIG) 318.00p 1.60%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Clarkson (CKN) 3,685.00p -16.44%
Victrex plc (VCT) 1,018.00p -2.86%
Just Group (JUST) 143.40p -2.85%
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 170.20p -2.63%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 714.00p -2.19%
Ninety One (N91) 146.80p -2.07%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 589.50p -1.75%
Pacific Horizon Inv Trust (PHI) 570.00p -1.55%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 3,605.00p -1.50%
Herald Investment Trust (HRI) 2,080.00p -1.19%
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