London open: Stocks rise after strong US session

(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Friday, taking their cue from a solid session on Wall Street. At 0820 BST, the FTSE 100 was 0.3% firmer at 7,647.25, while sterling hit its highest level against the dollar since April 2022 amid expectations of further rate hikes. The pound was up 0.1% at $1.2790.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "US markets snapped back strongly as the dust settled from a Federal Reserve announcement which paused rate rises, but cautioned on the possibility of more to come. The market is still insisting on the glass half-full approach, anticipating only one more rate rise in July as opposed to the two hikes which the Fed implied earlier in the week, and the cumulative slew of economic data over recent days could just lead additional weight to that view.

"The reaction to the Wall Street performance and a generally positive session across Asia also pushed the FTSE 100 ahead in opening trade, albeit on a more pedestrian basis. Further strength in sterling acted as something of a headwind given a majority constituent exposure to overseas earnings, while increasing investor confidence elsewhere could be responsible for new money being invested in other more obvious growth markets at the expense of the domestic index."

In equity markets, electricals retailer Currys gained after saying it is considering putting its Greek business Kotsovolos up for sale, as it kicks off a strategic review.

Supermarket giant Tesco edged down despite saying that first-quarter sales had surged 8.8%, maintaining annual guidance and pointing to "encouraging" early signs that inflation was starting to ease for customers.

ITV edged lower as the broadcaster confirmed it is in talks about the possible acquisition of All3Media, the independent production company behind The Traitors. Responding to press speculation, the broadcaster said in a brief statement that it was "actively exploring" a potential deal.

Travis Perkins tumbled after the builders' merchant warned on profits as higher interest rates and weaker consumer confidence weighed heavily on house building. The company said it had "not seen the anticipated easing of market conditions in the second quarter to date".

B&Q and Castorama owner Kingfisher also fell sharply.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,647.25 0.25% FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,046.81 0.04% techMARK (TASX) 4,573.12 0.23%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 437.40p 1.72% Entain (ENT) 1,221.00p 1.58% Whitbread (WTB) 3,448.00p 1.41% Informa (INF) 738.00p 1.32% Persimmon (PSN) 1,197.50p 1.31% Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,588.00p 1.18% Glencore (GLEN) 479.95p 1.04% Frasers Group (FRAS) 690.50p 0.95% Anglo American (AAL) 2,603.25p 0.90% Croda International (CRDA) 5,568.00p 0.87%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Kingfisher (KGF) 230.20p -2.46% Barratt Developments (BDEV) 437.80p -2.32% Burberry Group (BRBY) 2,236.00p -0.84% Unite Group (UTG) 888.00p -0.78% Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,905.00p -0.71% Weir Group (WEIR) 1,811.50p -0.63% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 164.90p -0.60% 3i Group (III) 1,992.00p -0.45% Halma (HLMA) 2,336.00p -0.43% Tesco (TSCO) 263.40p -0.42%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Dr. Martens (DOCS) 132.70p 2.47% Bank of Georgia Group (BGEO) 2,985.00p 2.40% National Express Group (NEX) 117.90p 2.34% Carnival (CCL) 1,124.00p 2.23% Softcat (SCT) 1,478.00p 2.14% IP Group (IPO) 54.00p 2.08% Spectris (SXS) 3,750.00p 2.01% Victrex plc (VCT) 1,495.00p 1.91% FirstGroup (FGP) 140.20p 1.89% ASOS (ASC) 383.00p 1.75%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Discoverie Group (DSCV) 903.00p -3.42% Redrow (RDW) 467.20p -2.67% Grafton Group Ut (CDI) (GFTU) 830.00p -2.38% Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 675.00p -2.17% Marshalls (MSLH) 270.00p -2.17% Pacific Horizon Inv Trust (PHI) 545.00p -1.62% ITV (ITV) 68.98p -1.54% RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,586.00p -1.37% Dunelm Group (DNLM) 1,121.00p -1.15% Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 213.60p -1.11%