London midday: Stocks a touch lower as Reckitt tumbles

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were a touch weaker by midday on Wednesday, with Reckitt Benckiser under the cosh, as investors mulled the latest stimulus measures from China and mixed reactions to results from Microsoft and Google owner Alphabet overnight. The FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 7,385.60.

Market participants were mulling the latest efforts from authorities in Beijing, after they announced plans to issue 1 trillion yuan in government bonds to support the economy. According to state media, the bulk of this will be used for infrastructure spending.

Investors were also digesting a mixed showing from Microsoft and Alphabet.

Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said: "Microsoft and Alphabet both delivered better than expected earnings although there was some divergence in the reaction, with the former higher and the latter lower on their respective numbers.

"Microsoft's head start in AI seems to be paying off, while Alphabet appears to be in catch-up mode on both this and cloud computing."

On home shores, Reckitt Benckiser tumbled as the consumer goods giant's third-quarter like-for-like sales growth of 3.4% undershot analyst expectations. Reckitt also unveiled plans to return £1bn to shareholders and laid out a strategy to boost revenues over the medium term.

Hewson said: "News of a £1 billion share buyback is not enough to blind shareholders to an uncertain start for new Reckitt boss Kris Licht with like-for-like sales growth coming in slightly below expectations and its nutrition business having a rough quarter."

Lloyds Bank turned higher following weakness earlier in the session, as it reported a massive jump in third-quarter profits as it continued to cash in on higher interest rates, despite a reduction in lending to customers amid tough macroeconomic conditions.

Pre-tax profit for the three months to September 30 soared to £1.85bn from £576m a year earlier.

Essentra tumbled as it said full-year adjusted operating profit was set to be "towards the lower end" of its expectations due to a "softer" trading environment.

Brick and building materials maker Ibstock lost ground as it maintained annual guidance despite lower volumes as higher prices and cost controls offset weaker demand in the housebuilding market.

Paper and packaging group Mondi was hit by a downgrade to 'underweight' from 'equalweight' at Barclays.

On the upside, Bytes Technology gained as the software, security and cloud services company hiked its interim dividend by 12.5% after a strong first half, with revenues and profits rising by double-digits and billed income jumping by over a third.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,385.60 -0.06% FTSE 250 (MCX) 16,796.86 -1.16% techMARK (TASX) 4,007.63 -0.28%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,200.00p 2.77% Sage Group (SGE) 969.40p 1.96% BAE Systems (BA.) 1,092.00p 1.35% Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 2,614.00p 1.24% GSK (GSK) 1,485.40p 1.05% Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 40.95p 0.92% Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,564.00p 0.84% Ashtead Group (AHT) 4,700.00p 0.71% Convatec Group (CTEC) 203.20p 0.59% BP (BP.) 537.20p 0.52%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 475.70p -6.28% Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 5,594.00p -5.44% St James's Place (STJ) 600.60p -2.75% Entain (ENT) 915.40p -2.64% Schroders (SDR) 359.10p -2.39% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 138.80p -2.29% Airtel Africa (AAF) 112.10p -2.27% JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 126.35p -2.02% SEGRO (SGRO) 686.00p -2.00% Fresnillo (FRES) 519.20p -1.96%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 480.80p 5.90% Me Group International (MEGP) 147.40p 1.94% Baillie Gifford Japan Trust (BGFD) 654.00p 1.24% Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited NPV (SONG) 74.20p 1.23% NB Private Equity Partners Ltd. (NBPE) 1,550.00p 1.04% Hill and Smith (HILS) 1,622.00p 0.87% Coats Group (COA) 68.00p 0.74% Softcat (SCT) 1,246.00p 0.65% NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited Red (NESF) 79.45p 0.57% Computacenter (CCC) 2,504.00p 0.48%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

CAB Payments Holdings (CABP) 55.10p -9.37% Future (FUTR) 826.50p -5.92% Essentra (ESNT) 140.00p -5.15% CLS Holdings (CLI) 88.30p -4.44% IWG (IWG) 122.70p -4.29% Close Brothers Group (CBG) 728.00p -4.15% OSB Group (OSB) 278.20p -4.07% TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 402.80p -4.00% Target Healthcare Reit Ltd (THRL) 72.30p -3.60% 888 Holdings (DI) (888) 82.65p -3.50%