London open: Stocks edge lower as Mondi, BAE results fail to impress

(Sharecast News) - Equity markets in London edged lower in early trade on Thursday as investors mulled the latest FOMC minutes, with disappointing results from the likes of Mondi and BAE Systems and ex-dividend stocks proving a drag. At 0900 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.2% at 7,915.03, underperforming its European peers, with the benchmark Stoxx 600 index up 0.3%.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "'Investors are finding it hard to shake off the funk that's descended over the prospect of interest rates going higher and hanging around for longer. There were few crumbs of comfort from the closely watched minutes of the US Federal Open Markets Committee, with the determination of policymakers to stay tough on inflation clear.

"The data so far might signal that the hot prices are beginning to be tamed, but it is not yet enough reassurance that the spiral is going to come down fast enough to target without more aggressive tightening, albeit at a slower place. The resilience of the US economy is right now considered to be disadvantage, with rate hikes so far proving to be just glancing blows in certain sectors."

On the corporate front, investors were sinking their teeth into a barrage of earnings releases.

Mondi was the worst performer on the FTSE 100 as the paper and packaging group more than doubled full-year profits on higher prices but warned that it continued to see softer demand and pricing, despite input costs declining.

BAE Systems was also in the red despite hailing a record order intake for 2022 and posting a rise in sales and underlying earnings amid an "elevated threat environment".

Drax was sharply lower despite saying it nearly doubled its full-year operating profits even as it continued to invest heavily in the business.

Ex-dividend stocks weighed, with Barclays, GlaxoSmithKline, Land Securities, AstraZeneca, Unilever, Standard Chartered, Redrow, Plus500 and Endeavour Mining all in the frame.

On the upside, aerospace and defence company Rolls-Royce surged as it posted a rise in operating profit as the post-pandemic recovery in international travel continued and said it expected underlying earnings of £0.8-1bn this fiscal year.

Advertising giant WPP gained as it hiked its dividend, said it expects top-line growth of 3-5% for 2023, ahead of market expectations, and reported a rise in full-year profit and revenue.

Wood Group rocketed after it said late on Wednesday that it had rejected three unsolicited, preliminary and conditional takeover proposals from Apollo Global Management, the last of which was at 230p per share.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,915.03 -0.20% FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,845.68 0.84% techMARK (TASX) 4,628.86 0.08%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 126.92p 17.93% WPP (WPP) 1,068.00p 5.07% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 164.52p 3.76% Ocado Group (OCDO) 637.20p 3.07% Next (NXT) 6,938.00p 2.88% JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 183.35p 1.86% Melrose Industries (MRO) 145.00p 1.75% SEGRO (SGRO) 843.20p 1.71% Abrdn (ABDN) 211.60p 1.68% Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 720.60p 1.49%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Mondi (MNDI) 1,386.50p -6.16% BAE Systems (BA.) 875.60p -2.93% Standard Chartered (STAN) 745.80p -2.36% Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,711.00p -1.95% HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 626.20p -1.56% Unilever (ULVR) 4,207.50p -1.38% GSK (GSK) 1,462.60p -1.30% Anglo American (AAL) 3,046.00p -1.28% Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,655.00p -1.14% Smith (DS) (SMDS) 330.90p -0.99%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Wood Group (John) (WG.) 203.00p 31.22% Genus (GNS) 2,920.00p 7.99% ASOS (ASC) 859.00p 6.05% Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,654.00p 4.69% Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 1,710.00p 4.65% Spectris (SXS) 3,280.00p 4.36% Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,827.00p 4.19% Molten Ventures (GROW) 380.60p 3.71% Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 3,138.00p 3.56% Hunting (HTG) 319.00p 2.90%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Drax Group (DRX) 638.00p -5.34% Supermarket Income Reit (SUPR) 90.40p -4.64% WH Smith (SMWH) 1,628.50p -1.84% Hays (HAS) 121.40p -1.78% Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 133.00p -1.77% Redrow (RDW) 493.60p -1.77% BBGI Global Infrastructure S.A. NPV (DI) (BBGI) 148.00p -1.33% Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 189.95p -1.30% Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 1,788.00p -1.16% Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited NPV (SONG) 86.60p -1.14%