London close: Stocks finish flat ahead of Easter break

(Sharecast News) - London stocks ended flat to lower on Thursday as investors weighed mixed global signals ahead of the long Easter weekend. The FTSE 100 index closed pretty much flat at 8,275.66 points, while the FTSE 250 slipped 0.08% to 19,250.01 points.

In currency markets, sterling was last up 0.02% on the dollar to trade at $1.3247, as it gained 0.39% against the euro, changing hands at €1.1661.

"Dow heavyweight UnitedHealth threw traders a nasty prognosis for coming months in its earnings today, dragging the headline US index lower and precipitating a renewed sell-off across markets this afternoon," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.

"The company's warning about the outlook just piles on the uncertainty, a point reinforced by the IMF's downgrade of the global outlook.

"Even talks between the US and Japan failed to stabilise sentiment, which remains vulnerable to any and all bad news."

Beauchamp added that US president Trump "seemed to wake up in a mood", renewing his criticism of the Fed, and specifically of its chairman.

"Confidence in the US as a safe haven is battered, and signs of a spat between administration and central bank could drive more outflows from US assets.

"The US has imposed fresh sanctions on Iran, but arguably it is news of a hawkish Israeli push for action against Tehran that is driving the bigger move higher.

"It is far from clear that US-Iran talks will yield much of a result, and this countering the bearish view on oil driven by recession fears."

Initial jobless claims unexpectedly fall stateside, ECB cuts interest rates

In economic news, new filings for unemployment benefits in the US fell unexpectedly last week, suggesting continued resilience in the American labour market.

Initial jobless claims dropped by 9,000 to 215,000 for the week ended 12 April, confounding forecasts for a slight increase.

The figure marked the lowest level in over two months.

However, continuing claims rose by 41,000 to 1.88 million, indicating that some pressure may be building among those already receiving benefits.

The four-week average of initial claims, which smooths out weekly volatility, slipped by 2,500 to 220,750.

At the same time, factory activity in the Philadelphia region deteriorated sharply in April.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's manufacturing index plunged to -26.4 from 12.5 in March, far below expectations.

It was led lower by a steep decline in new orders and a near stagnation in employment growth.

Businesses also reported a slight increase in input costs, with the prices-paid index ticking higher.

Closer to home, the European Central Bank cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points, bringing the deposit rate to 2.25% in a widely anticipated move.

It marked the ECB's seventh consecutive cut as policymakers cited weakening growth prospects amid rising trade tensions and financial market volatility.

The central bank warned that persistent uncertainty could further weigh on confidence and tighten financing conditions across the eurozone.

"What started last year in June as the European Central Bank's very measured attempt to gradually reduce the level of monetary policy restrictiveness has become a rush towards neutral interest rates, and there's more still to come," said Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING.

"With the latest developments, escalating trade tensions, unprecedented policy uncertainty and the strengthening of the euro exchange rate, today's ECB's decision to cut interest rates by 25bp - bringing the deposit rate to 2.25% - came as little surprise."

Ex-dividends drag on markets, Rentokil and Sainsbury's manage gains

On London's equity markets, Fresnillo dropped 5.55% after going ex-dividend alongside several other names.

Unite Group fell 1.26%, Rolls-Royce slipped 1.35%, and BAE Systems declined 1.52%.

Jupiter Fund Management lost 5.07%, while Weir Group and Travis Perkins were down 1.2% and 2.44%, respectively, all adjusting lower as they traded without entitlement to upcoming dividend payouts.

Elsewhere, Hays slid 2.37% after the recruitment firm reported a drop in first-half adjusted operating profit.

The company cited continued pressure from slower hiring activity, which weighed on both placement volumes and fee income.

On the upside, Rentokil Initial rose 5.01% after the pest control company posted a rise in first-quarter revenue, despite softer results from its North American operations.

Retail giant J Sainsbury added 3.55% after reporting an 8.6% increase in full-year underlying pre-tax profit to £761m, although the supermarket warned of flat earnings in the coming year.

Dunelm Group jumped 12.46% after the homeware retailer reported a solid increase in third-quarter sales and said it remains on track to meet full-year profit expectations.

Deliveroo climbed 3.31% after announcing strong growth in the first quarter, with gross transaction value up 9% and order volume rising 7%.

Asset manager Ninety One gained 2.31% after reporting a modest rise in assets under management to £130.8 billion, up slightly from the previous quarter.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,275.66 0.00% FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,250.01 -0.08% techMARK (TASX) 4,380.22 -0.99%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Rentokil Initial (RTO) 350.00p 5.01% Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 257.20p 3.55% Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,414.00p 3.45% JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 75.00p 2.68% Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 113.00p 2.63% Tesco (TSCO) 354.60p 2.60% Entain (ENT) 569.80p 2.45% Land Securities Group (LAND) 576.50p 2.13% Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 411.30p 2.06% Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,205.00p 1.62%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Fresnillo (FRES) 1,017.00p -5.55% Melrose Industries (MRO) 410.00p -2.24% Spirax Group (SPX) 5,840.00p -1.85% Admiral Group (ADM) 3,202.00p -1.72% CRH (CDI) (CRH) 6,432.00p -1.65% BAE Systems (BA.) 1,715.50p -1.52% WPP (WPP) 538.60p -1.47% Beazley (BEZ) 909.00p -1.46% Convatec Group (CTEC) 253.40p -1.40% easyJet (EZJ) 468.50p -1.37%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Dunelm Group (DNLM) 1,065.00p 13.29% Dr. Martens (DOCS) 52.80p 3.53% HGCapital Trust (HGT) 504.00p 3.38% Deliveroo Class (ROO) 134.40p 3.31% B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 322.80p 2.77% Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 325.50p 2.52% Great Portland Estates (GPE) 309.00p 2.32% Ninety One (N91) 137.50p 2.31% Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,776.00p 2.07% British Land Company (BLND) 383.40p 1.97%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 69.30p -5.07% Spectris (SXS) 2,002.00p -4.38% Twentyfour Income Fund Limited Ord Red (TFIF) 108.60p -3.89% Hochschild Mining (HOC) 310.60p -3.18% W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 61.00p -3.17% Renishaw (RSW) 2,150.00p -2.93% Bodycote (BOY) 481.80p -2.60% Grafton Group Ut (CDI) (GFTU) 884.10p -2.59% JPMorgan American Inv Trust (JAM) 905.00p -2.58% Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 325.00p -2.55%