London open: Stocks fall as gas prices surge; Countryside bucks trend

(Sharecast News) - London stocks fell in early trade on Monday as gas prices surged after Russia indefinitely suspended gas flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany, and as investors awaited the announcement of the new UK prime minister. At 0855 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.8% at 7,223.62.

Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Europe's energy crisis has lurched into another critical phase after the indefinite shutdown of the Nord stream pipeline. These are the worst-case scenario fears that European leaders had been bracing for. Ostensibly the reason for the closure is an oil leak in one of the turbines, but industry experts have called into question the necessity of a move of this magnitude given the repairs required.

"Instead it seems energy is Russia's big weapon in the ongoing war with Ukraine. Turning off the gas taps appears to be a response by Russia to a planned price cap on its oil, designed to cause blackouts and rationing and further financial pain for companies and consumers across Europe. The price of natural gas futures, traded in Europe surged by 30% earlier before dipping back a little."

On home shores, the new UK prime minister is expected to be announced around 1230 BST, with Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak in the running. Liz Truss is seen as the frontrunner, amid reports she is planning a freeze on energy bills.

In equity markets, Aston Martin slid after the luxury car maker confirmed a £575.8m rights issue, supported by chairman Lawrence Stroll and Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund. The issue price was 103p per share, which is a discount of 78.5% to the closing share price on Friday.

Veterinary pharmaceuticals group Dechra fell sharply even as it posted a rise in full-year profit and revenue.

Investment bank Close Brothers also lost ground as it said Philip Yarrow has decided to retire and will step down as chief executive from Winterflood Securities on 20 September after 22 years at its broking arm.

On the upside, Countryside Partnerships rallied after it agreed to be bought by housebuilder Vistry in a £1.25bn deal. Under the terms of the acquisition, Vistry will pay 0.255 of a new Vistry shares and 60p per share in cash.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,223.62 -0.79% FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,677.45 -0.93% techMARK (TASX) 4,229.54 -0.86%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Glencore (GLEN) 467.45p 3.13% Harbour Energy (HBR) 484.70p 2.47% Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,126.00p 2.22% Anglo American (AAL) 2,804.00p 1.91% BAE Systems (BA.) 777.80p 1.75% Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,780.50p 1.70% BP (BP.) 460.25p 1.44% Shell (SHEL) 2,354.50p 1.31% Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,673.00p 0.72% Avast (AVST) 718.20p 0.42%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 3,292.00p -5.84% Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 2,792.00p -5.32% Centrica (CNA) 75.50p -3.67% Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 1,272.50p -3.38% CRH (CDI) (CRH) 3,089.00p -3.35% Croda International (CRDA) 6,528.00p -3.29% Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 10,225.00p -3.03% Smith (DS) (SMDS) 263.30p -2.88% Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 785.40p -2.85% Schroders (SDR) 2,618.00p -2.82%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Countryside Partnerships (CSP) 240.00p 5.17% Energean (ENOG) 1,318.00p 4.52% Tullow Oil (TLW) 51.10p 3.48% Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 130.50p 1.56% BBGI Global Infrastructure S.A. NPV (DI) (BBGI) 167.20p 1.33% Apax Global Alpha Limited (APAX) 168.00p 1.20% BH Macro Ltd. GBP Shares (BHMG) 4,725.00p 1.18% Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 134.60p 1.05% Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 247.50p 0.81% Biffa (BIFF) 398.00p 0.76%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Tyman (TYMN) 209.00p -8.53% Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 446.80p -6.94% ASOS (ASC) 640.00p -6.57% TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 124.90p -4.25% Currys (CURY) 61.40p -4.21% Drax Group (DRX) 635.00p -4.01% Liontrust Asset Management (LIO) 812.00p -3.79% IP Group (IPO) 67.75p -3.56% Frasers Group (FRAS) 774.50p -3.43% Molten Ventures (GROW) 329.60p -3.40%