London open: FTSE nudges down amid earnings flurry
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Tuesday 29 Apr 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks nudged lower in early trade on Tuesday as investors waded through a deluge of corporate releases from the likes of BP and HSBC.
At 0850 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 8,409.11.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The Footsie had been on a winning streak, but it's struggling to hang onto gains in early trade. Although the blue-chip index has made back a chunk of the losses from the tariff induced turmoil, amid some hopes that tariff pain will be diluted, it's flatlining as optimism starts to disappear.
"There's a lack of clarity over how the China-US negotiations will unfold. It appears both sides are waiting for the other to take the initiative, with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying it was up to China to de-escalate the situation.
"Amid the standoff, worries about the effect on global growth are lingering, and it's showing up in oil prices, with Brent Crude falling back by around 1% as projections for energy demand are scaled back."
In equity markets, Primark owner Associated British Foods slumped as it said first-half profits fell by a tenth with sales slightly behind last year, as growth in retail and food ingredients was offset by a "frustrating" performance in the sugar division.
Adjusted pre-tax profit totalled £818m in the 24 weeks to 1 March, down from £911m the year before, as group revenues fell 2% to £9.51bn. The interim dividend was unchanged at 20.7p per share.
Beazley was sharply lower as it reiterated its full-year outlook and posted a modest uptick in written premiums.
BP lost ground after the oil giant reported lower-than-expected quarterly income as it continued to overhaul its long-term strategy amid tumbling oil prices.
The blue chip said underlying replacement cost profits - its core measure of income - were $1.38bn in the first quarter of 2025. That was an improvement on the previous three months' $1.17bn, but down sharply on the $2.72bn posted in the first quarter of 2024. It was also below analyst forecasts for $1.53bn.
On the upside, Ladbrokes owner Entain rallied as it reported a strong start to the year with net gaming revenues ahead of expectations and officially appointed interim boss Stella David as its new chief executive.
HSBC was in the black as it posted better-than-expected first-quarter pre-tax profits of $9.5bn and announced a $3bn share buyback. However, the bank also lifted its bad loan provisions in the first quarter, blaming a bleak macroeconomic outlook from higher tariffs and geopolitical tensions.
The lender said it now expects credit losses of $876m, an increase of $202m, with $100m set aside to cover Hong Kong's commercial property sector.
Howden Joinery surged as it announced plans to open 20 to 25 new depots in the UK this year and refurbish around 60 older locations and said that trading in the first four months of the year was in line with expectations.
Builders' merchant Travis Perkins gained even as it reported a drop in first-quarter sales, saying that trading remained challenging.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,409.11 -0.10%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,772.09 0.20%
techMARK (TASX) 4,486.80 0.01%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Entain (ENT) 647.20p 3.02%
easyJet (EZJ) 501.20p 2.66%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,718.50p 2.26%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,091.50p 2.01%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 850.00p 1.96%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 819.00p 1.93%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 485.30p 1.72%
WPP (WPP) 569.00p 1.39%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 79.96p 1.32%
Barclays (BARC) 298.95p 1.30%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,042.00p -8.80%
Beazley (BEZ) 837.50p -5.37%
BP (BP.) 348.10p -3.84%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 10,124.00p -3.82%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,064.00p -3.10%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 11,255.00p -0.88%
Shell (SHEL) 2,439.00p -0.77%
Compass Group (CPG) 2,421.00p -0.74%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 4,060.00p -0.73%
BT Group (BT.A) 170.75p -0.70%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 787.00p 6.50%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 545.00p 3.12%
Mobico Group (MCG) 34.40p 2.44%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 393.40p 2.34%
Chemring Group (CHG) 397.50p 1.92%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 277.40p 1.61%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,665.00p 1.46%
Lion Finance Group (BGEO) 5,890.00p 1.29%
Quilter (QLT) 135.60p 1.27%
RS Group (RS1) 520.00p 1.17%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 52.80p -3.03%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 544.00p -2.51%
THG (THG) 27.82p -1.56%
Me Group International (MEGP) 192.80p -1.43%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 154.60p -1.40%
Breedon Group (BREE) 443.00p -1.29%
Hammerson (HMSO) 248.00p -1.04%
Energean (ENOG) 882.50p -1.01%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 3,044.00p -0.85%
NCC Group (NCC) 143.20p -0.83%
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