London open: Stocks gain; Diploma surges on guidance upgrade

(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Tuesday as concerns about Moody's US credit rating downgrade faded, with hopes of a Ukraine ceasefire and a rate cut in China underpinning sentiment. At 0855 BST, the FTSE 100 was 0.3% higher at 8,721.70.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Renewed hopes for a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, combined with another wave of stimulus for China's economy has provided optimism in early trading. The FTSE 100 and European indices have opened higher as geopolitical tensions look set to ease.

"Following a call with Putin, President Trump was bullish about negotiations for a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia starting immediately. The renewed rush for safe havens sparked by the US credit rating downgrade, has reversed, with gold falling back as investors have more appetite for equities. Of course, hanging on the words of unpredictable leaders isn't solid ground, and hopes for a ceasefire have risen before, only to be dashed. Russia has indicated that any progress is likely to be slow, with Putin talking about a 'memorandum on a possible future peace agreement'.

"Nevertheless, for now it's being seen as progress. If a deal is reached, it could pave the way for sanctions relief for Russia, and its crude supplies to flow more freely into world markets. That possibility of higher supplies globally is pushing down the price of Brent, which is trading around $65 a barrel.

"The People's Bank of China has injected a dose of more stimulus into the economy, by cutting a key lending rate to a record low. It wasn't a surprise move - the central bank was expected to make the change, given the monetary easing push announced this month."

In equity markets, Diploma surged to the top of the FTSE 100 as it lifted its full-year organic revenue growth and operating margin guidance following a strong first half.

Centrica gained after North Sea operator Ithaca Energy bought an additional 46.25% stake in the Cygnus gas field from Spirit Energy in a £116m deal.

Smiths Group advanced after saying it now expects full-year revenue growth to be towards the top end of its guidance amid strong demand.

Vodafone was in the black despite saying it swung to a full-year operating loss, as it also said it expects Germany to return to top-line growth this year and announced a new €2bn share buyback.

Bakery chain Greggs was the top performer on the FTSE 250 as it held annual guidance after reporting a 2.9% rise in like-for-like sales in the first 20 weeks of the year, with an improved performance in the last 11 weeks supported by better trading conditions.

Upper Crust owner SSP and supermarket supplier Cranswick also rose after results.

On the downside, B&Q and Castorama owner Kingfisher was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'underweight' at Barclays.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,721.70 0.26% FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,006.00 0.21% techMARK (TASX) 4,736.78 0.22%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Diploma (DPLM) 4,834.00p 14.50% Spirax Group (SPX) 6,080.00p 1.67% Centrica (CNA) 154.20p 1.45% BT Group (BT.A) 170.15p 1.40% Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 76.88p 1.37% Smiths Group (SMIN) 2,078.00p 1.17% Melrose Industries (MRO) 462.90p 1.07% British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,258.00p 1.05% Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,785.00p 1.05% National Grid (NG.) 1,080.50p 0.98%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Entain (ENT) 760.20p -1.35% Kingfisher (KGF) 309.50p -1.28% Rentokil Initial (RTO) 348.80p -1.16% Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,779.50p -1.14% St James's Place (STJ) 1,077.50p -0.97% Weir Group (WEIR) 2,382.00p -0.92% InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 8,896.00p -0.89% Prudential (PRU) 859.20p -0.83% Diageo (DGE) 2,117.00p -0.70% The Sage Group (SGE) 1,224.50p -0.41%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Greggs (GRG) 2,150.00p 7.55% Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 306.80p 3.79% SSP Group (SSPG) 173.40p 3.71% Mobico Group (MCG) 29.00p 3.57% Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 3,815.00p 2.69% Cranswick (CWK) 5,380.00p 2.28% Kainos Group (KNOS) 770.00p 2.26% W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 66.60p 2.15% CMC Markets (CMCX) 268.50p 2.09% Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 122.70p 1.74%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

JTC (JTC) 880.00p -2.65% Safestore Holdings (SAFE) 635.00p -1.93% Trustpilot Group (TRST) 246.20p -1.44% Moonpig Group (MOON) 250.50p -1.18% Burberry Group (BRBY) 999.60p -1.13% Genuit Group (GEN) 411.00p -1.08% Discoverie Group (DSCV) 599.00p -0.99% Playtech (PTEC) 352.00p -0.98% Big Yellow Group (BYG) 1,006.00p -0.98% Impax Environmental Markets (IEM) 372.50p -0.93%