London close: Stocks mixed after earnings deluge, US data

(Sharecast News) - London's stock markets closed in a mixed state on Thursday, as investors waded through a flood of economic updates out of the US during the afternoon. The FTSE 100 index finished the day down 0.27% at 7,831.58, while the FTSE 250 was ahead 0.21% at 19,248.01.

Despite a wave of corporate earnings reports from London equities, movements were subdued from the open.

In currency markets, sterling showed strength against dollar and the euro, gaining 0.14% on the greenback to trade at $1.2486, and advancing 0.29% against the common currency to change hands at €1.1326.

"Despite a deluge of earnings announcements that have been largely positive, European markets have struggled to gain traction today after the losses of yesterday," said CMC Markets chief market analyst Michael Hewson,

"We have seen some modest buying in some key areas with consumer staples and financials getting a lift from some solid company updates.

"The FTSE 100 has lagged largely due to underperformance in energy, and weakness in BP and Shell."

Train drivers announce fresh strikes, US economy grows more slowly

In economic news, train drivers' union Aslef rejected a pay offer from 16 rail operating companies, leading to several days of planned strikes in May and June.

Aslef said drivers have not received a salary increase from the companies since 2019, adding that its negotiating team had met with employer representatives eight times to find a resolution under the Rail Industry Recovery Group framework.

Talks had been ongoing for a year since Aslef first balloted its members for industrial action in June last year.

Six pay deals were due in April 2019, with others falling due at different times.

Across the pond, the US Department of Commerce said the American economy grew slower than expected at the start of the year, expanding at a quarterly annualised pace of 1.1%, compared to economists' consensus estimate of 1.9%.

Pantheon Macroeconomics had predicted a slowdown to 0.7%.

The Commerce Department also revised its previous estimate for fourth-quarter GDP growth up to 2.6% from 2%.

"With most leading indicators of recession still flashing red and the drag from tighter credit conditions still to feed through, we expect a more marked weakening soon," said Capital Economics deputy US economist Andrew Hunter.

Elsewhere, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell more than economists expected last week, with initial claims dropping 16,000 over the seven days to 22 April, to 230,000.

Economists were expecting a reading of 250,000, while the four-week moving average fell by 4,000 to 236,000.

"The dip in jobless claims looks more like noise than signal," said Ian Shepherdson, chief US economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

"The trend is rising, lagging the surge in layoff announcements. We expect a rebound next week."

Finally on data, pending home sales in the US fell sharply last month, amid a lack of available housing stock.

The National Association of Realtors revealed that pending home sales decreased 23.2% year-on-year in March, following a 21.1% decline in February, making for a 22nd straight month of declines.

Pending home sales fell 5.2% on a monthly basis, with the only increase coming from the South region.

"The lack of housing inventory is a major constraint to rising sales," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.

"Multiple offers are still occurring on about a third of all listings, and 28% of homes are selling above list price. Limited housing supply is simply not meeting demand nationally."

Barclays jumps on earnings, Sainsbury's slides as profits fall

On London's equity markets, Barclays was among the top performers, jumping 5.32% after it said it was on track to meet full-year guidance.

The bank posted a 16% jump in pre-tax profits, generating a group return on tangible equity of 15% and earnings per share of 11.3p.

"Barclays has posted a very solid first quarter, comfortably beating market consensus on profit amidst a turbulent tie for the broader banking sector," said Matt Britzman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

"It's still early doors for the major UK banks reporting cycle, but signs look promising that issues over the pond aren't leaking into the wider ecosystem.

"Credit card defaults in the UK remain below pre-pandemic levels, highlighting the UK consumers' resilience despite mounting costs."

Britzman said there were some signs of strain in the US, where credit card balances were building.

"That benefits Barclays, especially in a higher rate environment, but the flip side is higher default rates.

"It's nothing to get too worried about for now - credit impairments were comfortably within target range - but worth keeping an eye on."

Elsewhere, consumer goods giant Unilever added 1.37%, after it reported that underlying sales growth in the first quarter had accelerated to 10.5%, beating analysts' expectations.

Meanwhile, RS Group rallied 1.41% after announcing the acquisition of industrial products distributor Distrelec for £323m, while automotive distributor Inchcape was 4.05% firmer after reporting a positive start to the year.

On the downside, Legal & General Group, Rightmove, Relx, and Derwent London all lost ground as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.

St James's Place, Schroders, WPP, Weir Group, and Capricorn Energy all fell after updates, with St James's Place falling by 4.65%.

Supermarket giant J Sainsbury slid 2.71% after it posted a fall in profits for the 2023 financial period, but lifted guidance for the current year.

Meanwhile, utility provider Telecom Plus fell 3.3%, despite reporting a "record year of growth" with nearly 160,000 new households signing up with the business.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.