London open: Stocks edge down amid political chaos

(Sharecast News) - London stocks edged lower in early trade on Thursday following losses in the US and Asia, and after a day of chaos at Westminster. At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.4% at 6,899.31, while sterling was flat against the dollar at 1.1219, with Liz Truss's future as prime minister increasingly uncertain.

On Wednesday, Suella Braverman resigned as home secretary, having breached ministerial rules after sending an official document from her personal email account. On her way out, she took a swipe at the government, accusing it of breaking "key pledges" and failing to reduce immigration.

There was further turmoil during a vote on fracking, after opposition MPs said some Conservatives had been bullied and manhandled into voting with the government.

Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: "European markets have opened lower with the FTSE 100 under pressure amid a slew of corporate updates and UK political instability.

"While bond market stability has been restored at least for now, political instability remains with Prime Minister Liz Truss hanging on by a thread after the sudden resignation of home secretary Suella Braverman."

In equity markets, housebuilder Berkeley Group was under the cosh after a downgrade to 'hold' at Deutsche Bank. The bank said in a note that the housing market is in a state of flux. Mortgage rates have tripled, loans are less available and future re-financings will be painful, it said.

Other housebuilders also lost ground, with Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Barratt all down.

Dechra Pharmaceuticals fell as it said it remained on course to meet full-year expectations, despite a slower start to the year.

Homewares retailer Dunelm was also weaker after it reported a fall in first-quarter sales and maintained annual guidance despite a challenging macroeconomic environment.

On the upside, luxury fashion brand Burberry jumped to the top of the FTSE 100 following well-received results from French peer Hermes.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,899.31 -0.37% FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,176.94 -0.41% techMARK (TASX) 4,106.21 -0.76%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,899.50p 2.12% Shell (SHEL) 2,302.50p 1.30% Harbour Energy (HBR) 376.60p 1.29% BP (BP.) 460.40p 1.13% Convatec Group (CTEC) 213.20p 0.76% Rentokil Initial (RTO) 511.00p 0.71% Relx plc (REL) 2,230.00p 0.31% Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 5,928.00p 0.27% DCC (CDI) (DCC) 4,818.00p 0.27% British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,307.50p 0.12%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 964.40p -2.68% Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 2,540.00p -2.61% Anglo American (AAL) 2,562.00p -2.59% Persimmon (PSN) 1,201.50p -2.55% Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 731.40p -2.48% St James's Place (STJ) 969.80p -2.40% Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,295.00p -2.31% Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 86.84p -2.14% Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,502.50p -2.02% Barratt Developments (BDEV) 337.60p -1.92%

FTSE 250 - Risers

W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 85.00p 6.25% Network International Holdings (NETW) 314.80p 3.42% Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 72.00p 3.30% Dr. Martens (DOCS) 238.00p 3.12% Ashmore Group (ASHM) 189.40p 2.82% Bodycote (BOY) 506.00p 2.35% Tritax Eurobox (GBP) (EBOX) 62.10p 1.97% Impax Environmental Markets (IEM) 400.00p 1.78% Energean (ENOG) 1,360.00p 1.27% Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 179.10p 1.19%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,800.00p -3.54% ITV (ITV) 65.50p -3.22% Vistry Group (VTY) 542.50p -3.21% Liontrust Asset Management (LIO) 790.00p -3.07% NCC Group (NCC) 206.00p -2.83% Carnival (CCL) 593.40p -2.82% Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 185.30p -2.68% Pets at Home Group (PETS) 273.00p -2.50% PZ Cussons (PZC) 187.20p -2.50% Ibstock (IBST) 155.40p -2.33%