London open: FTSE nudges up as investors mull GDP data

(Sharecast News) - London stocks edged up in early trade on Wednesday as data showed the UK economy returned to growth in January. At 0830 GMT, the FTSE 100 was 0.1% higher at 7,753.05, having surged on Tuesday.

Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed that gross domestic product rose 0.2% on the month in January, in line with expectations, following a 0.1% decline in December.

In the final three months of 2023, GDP fell 0.3%, having contracted by 0.1% in the previous three months, dipping the economy into a technical recession.

Services output grew by 0.2% in January and was the largest contributor to the rise in GDP, the ONS said. Production output declined by 0.2% in January, while construction output was up 1.1%.

The data showed that in the three months to January, GDP fell by 0.1% compared with the three months to October 2023. Services output showed no growth during the period, while production output fell by 0.2% and construction output also fell, by 0.9%.

ONS statistician Liz McKeown said: "The economy picked up in January with strong growth in retail and wholesaling. Construction also performed well with housebuilders having a good month, having been subdued for much of the last year.

"These were partially offset by falls in TV and film production, lawyers and the often-erratic pharmaceutical industry.

"Over the last three months as a whole, the economy contracted slightly."

In equity markets, Flutter Entertainment was the top gainer on the FTSE 100 after an upgrade to 'overweight' from 'neutral' at JPMorgan Cazenove.

Infrastructure group Balfour Beatty rose as it lifted its dividend and announced a £100m share buyback.

On the downside, Ferrexpo slumped after the miner said late on Tuesday that it needed more time to finalise its full-year results due to a legal claim against its unit in Ukraine.

South America-focused miner Hochschild was also in the red as it reported a 10% fall in production, offset by rising prices and the devaluation of the Argentinian peso which helped to lift adjusted core earnings. The company said adjusted EBITDA came in at $274.4m, up 10%. Revenues fell 6% to $693.7m.

4Imprint lost ground as it lifted its dividend by a third after a big jump in profits in 2023 on the back of market-share gains, but warned of a "softening" in the wider market towards the end of the year.

InterContinental Hotels was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'hold' from 'buy' at Jefferies.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,753.05 0.07% FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,590.21 0.13% techMARK (TASX) 4,544.82 0.21%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 17,570.00p 2.06% SSE (SSE) 1,603.00p 1.33% National Grid (NG.) 1,049.50p 1.30% Glencore (GLEN) 405.15p 1.30% Centrica (CNA) 129.30p 1.09% Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,836.00p 0.99% Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,316.00p 0.78% United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,048.50p 0.72% Next (NXT) 8,554.00p 0.66% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 394.20p 0.61%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 8,318.00p -1.05% Ocado Group (OCDO) 462.40p -0.88% RS Group (RS1) 724.60p -0.85% Sage Group (SGE) 1,237.50p -0.80% AstraZeneca (AZN) 10,364.00p -0.69% Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,882.50p -0.64% Rentokil Initial (RTO) 491.70p -0.63% Informa (INF) 804.80p -0.57% Entain (ENT) 758.20p -0.55% Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,445.00p -0.55%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Balfour Beatty (BBY) 359.80p 5.89% Playtech (PTEC) 469.00p 2.99% VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 467.00p 2.41% Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 224.40p 2.37% Carnival (CCL) 1,154.00p 2.30% BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 516.00p 1.98% Tullow Oil (TLW) 27.12p 1.88% Hilton Food Group (HFG) 849.00p 1.43% Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 349.50p 1.30% Close Brothers Group (CBG) 370.40p 1.26%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Ferrexpo (FXPO) 50.20p -8.73% Hochschild Mining (HOC) 105.00p -4.89% Coats Group (COA) 73.50p -2.78% Centamin (DI) (CEY) 103.80p -2.35% Victrex plc (VCT) 1,273.00p -2.00% 4Imprint Group (FOUR) 5,740.00p -1.88% JTC (JTC) 772.00p -1.84% Quilter (QLT) 102.50p -1.73% Dr. Martens (DOCS) 90.00p -1.64% Workspace Group (WKP) 491.60p -1.48%