London midday: FTSE extends gains; JD Sports surges on Nike results

(Sharecast News) - London stocks had extended gains by midday on Wednesday following a positive close on Wall Street, as investors mulled the latest UK borrowing and retail sales figures. The FTSE 100 was up 0.8% at 7,430.93.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "A calmer close to Wall Street last night had the soothing effect of stabilising markets across Europe following recent weakness, with all the major indices managing to sneak ahead on Wednesday."

Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed that public sector borrowing more than doubled in November, fuelled by government intervention on soaring energy bills and cost of living payments.

Public sector net borrowing excluding banks (PSNB ex) was a record £22.0bn last month, well above both November 2021's £8.1bn and consensus expectations of £13bn. It was also the highest November borrowing since monthly records began in 1993.

Elsewhere, the latest Distributive Trades survey from the Confederation of British Industry revealed that retail sales unexpectedly picked up in the run-up to Christmas.

The CBI's reported sales balance rose to +11 in December from -19 the month before, coming in well above consensus expectations for a reading of -24.

Still, the CBI said the cheer is set to be temporary, with retailers not expecting the recovery to continue into the new year.

As we head towards the Christmas break, there wasn't a whole lot happening on the corporate front, but JD Sports Fashion jumped to the top of the FTSE 100 on positive read-across from Nike's second-quarter numbers, which saw shares in the US sportswear firm surge after-hours.

Frasers Group was also in the black. Russ Mould said investors were seemingly "hopeful that a good showing from Nike means athleisure spending is more resilient than the market previously thought".

Ferrexpo gained after saying it was now receiving sufficient levels of power to bring one iron ore pelletiser line in central Ukraine back into operation, allowing it to meet the requirements of existing customer contracts.

Bunzl was weaker, despite saying that full-year revenues were set to jump, bolstered by high inflation and acquisitions.

Outside the FTSE 350, Tremor International rallied following a report the advertising technology firm is considering putting itself up for sale. According to Sky News, Tremor is understood to have appointed investment bank Goldman Sachs to help solicit takeover interest.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,430.93 0.82% FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,712.15 0.90% techMARK (TASX) 4,343.56 0.48%

FTSE 100 - Risers

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 119.70p 5.70% Ocado Group (OCDO) 648.20p 4.28% Frasers Group (FRAS) 741.00p 2.70% Next (NXT) 5,636.00p 2.32% Anglo American (AAL) 3,192.50p 2.19% Abrdn (ABDN) 188.55p 1.92% BP (BP.) 476.35p 1.90% Convatec Group (CTEC) 229.20p 1.87% St James's Place (STJ) 1,092.50p 1.82% Shell (SHEL) 2,348.00p 1.76%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Bunzl (BNZL) 2,794.00p -0.92% Halma (HLMA) 2,042.00p -0.68% BAE Systems (BA.) 847.60p -0.42% Severn Trent (SVT) 2,658.00p -0.30% Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,515.00p -0.23% Rentokil Initial (RTO) 512.20p -0.16% United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,008.50p -0.15% Standard Chartered (STAN) 621.00p -0.03% Glencore (GLEN) 547.90p -0.02% Compass Group (CPG) 1,902.00p 0.03%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited NPV (SONG) 88.70p 4.97% Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 442.20p 4.19% Tullow Oil (TLW) 37.00p 3.82% Hochschild Mining (HOC) 67.00p 3.24% Dr. Martens (DOCS) 180.20p 3.15% Hammerson (HMSO) 23.31p 3.14% Coats Group (COA) 71.10p 2.89% IWG (IWG) 153.75p 2.81% Ascential (ASCL) 196.00p 2.78% Energean (ENOG) 1,314.00p 2.74%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

National Express Group (NEX) 128.40p -2.43% Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 165.15p -1.70% PureTech Health (PRTC) 268.50p -1.29% Apax Global Alpha Limited (APAX) 185.60p -1.07% Ibstock (IBST) 147.70p -1.01% Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 180.00p -0.88% Bank of Georgia Group (BGEO) 2,530.00p -0.78% Schroder Asia Pacific Fund (SDP) 504.00p -0.59% Caledonia Investments (CLDN) 3,575.00p -0.56% The Global Smaller Companies Trust (GSCT) 143.60p -0.55%