Unlock Premium Data: Up to 50% Off InvestingProCLAIM SALE

London midday: Stocks stay down in quiet trade

Published 24/11/2023, 11:52
London midday: Stocks stay down in quiet trade
UK100
-
FTMC
-

Sharecast - The FTSE 100 was down 0.2% at 7,471.05.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "The usual adage is when the US sneezes the world catches a cold - in the latest case it appears when the US is on holiday global markets hit the snooze button.

"The FTSE 100 drifted lower on Friday as it lacked the usual direction provided by Wall Street. A sprinkle of profit taking and some weakness in the resources sector helped to put the index on the back foot."

Investors were digesting a survey released earlier by GfK, which showed that consumer confidence rebounded in November as people started to look towards the festive season.

The consumer confidence barometer was -24, a six-point increase following October’s surprise nine-point slump to -30.

Within that, all sub-measures improved as well. The gauge for the personal financial situation for the next 12 months rose five points to -3, while expectations for the economic situation in the coming year improved six points to -26.

The main purchase index also rose, by 10 points to -24.

Joe Staton, client strategy director at GfK, said: "Recent ups and downs in confidence have underlined the nation’s topsy-turvy economic mood, as encouraging news about falling inflation and wage growth is offset by high personal taxation, alongside costly fuel and energy bills.

"The dramatic 10-point jump in our major purchase sub-measure, reversing some of the worrying 14-point drop we saw last month, will be good news for retailers looking to benefit from Black Friday and Christmas.

"Despite the acute cost of living pressures, many would still like to loosen their purse strings just a little so they can enjoy that feel-good factor we all associate with the festive season."

In equity markets, Barclays (LON:BARC) was among the top gainers on the FTSE 100 following a Reuters report the bank is looking to save up to £1bn via cost cuts, which could result in 2,000 job losses.

Legal & General (LON:LGEN)nudged up after saying it had agreed to a full buy-in of the Boots pension scheme for £4.8bn.

The buy-in secures the benefits of all 53,000 retirees and deferred members of the scheme, making it the UK's largest single transaction of its kind by premium size and, for L&G, the largest single transaction by number of members.

JTC (LON:JTC)ticked lower as it agreed to buy Blackheath, a UK-based boutique asset management business, for an undisclosed sum.

Sage Group (LON:SGE) was knocked lower by a downgrade to ‘sell’ from ‘hold’ at Canaccord Genuity.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,471.05 -0.17%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,473.64 -0.04%

techMARK (TASX) 4,114.44 -0.30%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Vodafone Group (LON:VOD) 71.93p 1.50%

Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (LON:SKG) 2,762.00p 1.17%

Tesco (LON:TSCO) 283.00p 1.07%

Barclays (BARC) 141.50p 0.90%

Kingfisher (LON:KGF) 216.50p 0.89%

B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 540.60p 0.82%

Taylor Wimpey (LON:TW.) 127.10p 0.75%

Barratt Developments (LON:BDEV) 495.80p 0.69%

3i Group (LON:III) 2,174.00p 0.65%

SSE (LON:SSE) 1,817.50p 0.64%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Sage Group (SGE) 1,100.00p -2.70%

Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 12,575.00p -1.76%

Burberry Group (LON:BRBY) 1,516.00p -1.33%

Entain (LON:ENT) 853.20p -1.30%

Glencore (LON:GLEN) 444.25p -1.23%

Endeavour Mining (EDV (LON:EDV)) 1,714.00p -1.21%

Anglo American (JO:AGLJ) (AAL) 2,206.00p -1.14%

Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 716.60p -0.97%

Pershing Square (NYSE:SQ) Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,144.00p -0.82%

BT Group (LON:BT.A) 121.65p -0.82%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 220.80p 2.99%

IP Group (LON:IPO) 52.40p 1.75%

Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 87.00p 1.64%

Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 83.80p 1.45%

Sequoia Economic Infrastructure Income Fund Limited (SEQI) 84.50p 1.44%

Domino's Pizza Group (LON:DOM) 369.40p 1.37%

Cranswick (LON:CWK) 3,934.00p 1.29%

Edinburgh Worldwide Inv Trust (EWI) 143.20p 1.27%

Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 242.60p 1.25%

Just Group (LON:JUSTJ) (JUST) 83.80p 1.21%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Mitie Group (LON:MTO) 101.20p -3.62%

Ithaca Energy (LON:ITH) 161.20p -3.13%

888 Holdings (DI) (LON:888) 81.20p -2.29%

Dr. Martens (DOCS) 108.00p -2.26%

Bellevue Healthcare Trust (Red) (BBH) 127.00p -2.16%

FirstGroup (LON:FGP) 163.60p -2.09%

IntegraFin Holding (IHP) 250.60p -1.65%

Kainos Group (LON:KNOS) 943.50p -1.62%

Indivior (INDV) 1,330.00p -1.48%

Keller Group (LON:KLR) 813.00p -1.33%

Read more on Sharecast.com

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.