London midday: Stocks stay down but BP, Shell rally

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still in the red by midday on Friday as investors failed to find any comfort in news the UK narrowly avoided following into recession last year. The FTSE 100 was down 0.6% at 7,860.38.

Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed that GDP fell 0.5% in December following growth of 0.1% in November and 0.55% in October. December's print was dragged down by a 0.8% decline in the services sector, which recorded falls in health, education, transport and storage, arts and entertainment.

However, it was not enough to push the quarterly data into negative territory, and GDP was 0.0% in the three months to December, following a decline of 0.3% in November.

The definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of contraction.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Zero GDP growth is hardly a reason to celebrate, and markets are certainly not jumping for joy."

Investors were also mulling data released in China by the National Bureau of Statistics, which showed that consumer price inflation ticked up January as the country reopened after more than two years of Covid restrictions.

CPI rose 2.1% on the year in January, up from 1.8% in December and in line with expectations, as the China celebrated the lunar new year.

Meanwhile, the producer price index fell 0.8% year-over-year in January following a 0.7% decline the month before. Analysts had been expecting a 0.5% drop.

In equity markets, online supermarket Ocado was the standout loser on the FTSE 100.

Standard Chartered slumped after First Abu Dhabi Bank reiterated that it was not evaluating a possible offer for the bank. Shares surged on Thursday after Bloomberg reported that FAB was pressing ahead with a potential offer at between $30bn and $35bn.

JD Sports was under pressure as Adidas slid after it said operating losses could hit €700m in 2023 due to the Yeezy fallout.

Abrdn was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'reduce' at HSBC, which said it does not see the wealth manager coming close to its 2020-23 targets in the near term.

Polymer products maker Victrex lost ground as it held full-year guidance but said volumes had been softer during the first quarter, with ongoing weakness in several of its end markets.

On the upside, BP and Shell surged as oil prices rallied after Russia said it will cut oil production in retaliation against Western sanctions.

Saga gained after confirming it is in exclusives discussions with Australia's Open Insurance Technologies over the potential sales of its underwriting business, Acromas Insurance Company limited.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,860.38 -0.64% FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,959.54 -1.57% techMARK (TASX) 4,525.72 -0.67%

FTSE 100 - Risers

BP (BP.) 568.30p 4.14% Shell (SHEL) 2,520.50p 2.21% British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,052.00p 1.13% BT Group (BT.A) 135.30p 1.05% Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,024.00p 1.00% Centrica (CNA) 98.16p 0.76% BAE Systems (BA.) 848.20p 0.59% Compass Group (CPG) 1,862.00p 0.32% Vodafone Group (VOD) 91.44p 0.19% Unilever (ULVR) 4,107.00p -0.05%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 667.40p -6.79% Abrdn (ABDN) 204.20p -5.11% Standard Chartered (STAN) 731.20p -4.74% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 160.44p -4.69% Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,219.00p -4.37% Croda International (CRDA) 6,672.00p -4.22% InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 5,482.00p -4.06% St James's Place (STJ) 1,216.00p -3.99% JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 174.70p -3.88% Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 12,260.00p -3.84%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,460.00p 2.93% Tullow Oil (TLW) 36.06p 1.92% Capricorn Energy (CNE) 247.40p 1.39% Energean (ENOG) 1,217.00p 1.25% QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 342.40p 1.00% Harbour Energy (HBR) 320.00p 0.98% JPMorgan Indian Investment Trust (JII) 828.00p 0.98% Digital 9 Infrastructure NPV (DGI9) 88.40p 0.80% Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited NPV (SONG) 85.00p 0.71% Baillie Gifford Japan Trust (BGFD) 807.00p 0.62%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Synthomer (SYNT) 151.90p -5.83% Carnival (CCL) 817.20p -5.70% ASOS (ASC) 854.00p -5.64% Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,712.00p -5.27% Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 850.50p -4.97% Darktrace (DARK) 243.00p -4.37% easyJet (EZJ) 463.30p -4.34% 888 Holdings (DI) (888) 68.35p -3.94% TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 174.35p -3.86% PureTech Health (PRTC) 242.50p -3.77%