London close: Stocks mixed ahead of key UK inflation data

(Sharecast News) - London stocks ended Monday with a mixed performance as renewed concerns over French political uncertainty weighed on investors' minds.

Market participants were also looking ahead to UK inflation data and a significant policy announcement from the Bank of England scheduled for later in the week.

The FTSE 100 index marginally dipped by 0.06%, closing at 8,142.15 points, while the FTSE 250 showed a modest gain, rising by 0.2% to end the day at 20,159.72 points.

In currency markets, sterling was last up 0.06% on the dollar, trading at $1.2694, while it declined 0.13% against the euro, changing hands at €1.1837.

"European markets have risen off the lows of last week but there's little enthusiasm among investors for the region given the prevailing political uncertainty," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.

"Dip buyers, particularly in French stocks, may well opt to wait until after the election.

"While the UK is free of such uncertainty, for now it has been lumped into the same pile, an early rally for the FTSE 100 rapidly fizzling out this morning."

Beauchamp added that it was unlikely that the Nasdaq 100 could "go up indefinitely" while other indices slipped back, although traders were still chasing momentum in the likes of Nvidia.

"Small caps continue to be the worst affected in the US, with the Russell 2000 hitting a new six-week low today."

UK house prices stable, manufacturing outlook positive

In economic news, UK house prices remained stable in June after a strong performance in May, industry data revealed earlier.

The Nationwide house price index indicated that prices were virtually unchanged, dipping by just £21 from May to £375,110.

That followed a 0.8% increase in May.

Annually, prices rose by 0.6% in June, consistent with the previous month.

Additionally, the number of sales agreed increased by 6% year-on-year, with demand up 5%.

Despite the upcoming general election on 4 July , a Rightmove poll of 14,000 people showed most respondents did not expect it to impact their moving plans.

However, since Rishi Sunak's recent announcement, the number of high-end sellers entering the market fell by 3% compared to a 11% rise earlier.

"It's always difficult to predict how home-movers will react to sudden uncertainty, but...[in] previous election campaigns, market activity has remained largely steady," said Tim Bannister, director of property science at Rightmove.

"This election has followed a similar pattern so far.

"However, some potential sellers appear to be watching and waiting rather than taking action, evidenced by the dip in the number of new sellers coming to market, particularly at the top end."

Elsewhere, the UK's manufacturing sector showed a positive outlook as output and orders saw significant increases in the second quarter, according to a Make UK survey.

The manufacturers' organisation forecasted industry growth of 1.2% for the year, surpassing the overall UK economic growth projection of 0.9%.

In a survey of 320 companies conducted between 15 and 29 May, a net 9% reported increased output in the second quarter, up from 5% in the first quarter.

The balance was anticipated to surge to 30% in the third quarter, marking 14 consecutive quarters of positive balances.

"At long last, manufacturers can see concrete signs of growth and a much better economic outlook ahead," said Make UK senior economist James Brougham.

"With prices cooling and potential cuts in interest rates to come, the next government must capitalise on this scenario by delivering a modern, long term industrial strategy which goes beyond the 2030s and has cross government support.

"This must be supported by a revolution in skills, a shortage of which is the biggest factor affecting not just companies' growth prospects but, in many cases, their ability to maintain daily operations and fulfil contracts."

In the United States, the Empire State manufacturing index indicated continued weakness in New York's manufacturing activity for June.

"Although the index rose by 10 points to -6.0, it stayed below zero, reflecting ongoing contraction.

The survey highlighted steady new orders, higher shipments, shorter delivery times, and stable supply availability. Inventories remained flat, while the labour market showed persistent weakness with declining employment and hours worked.

Despite those challenges, firms were increasingly optimistic about future business conditions, with the future business conditions index climbing 16 points to 30.1.

Nearly half of the respondents expected improvements in the next six months.

Ascential rises, utilities and miners under pressure

On London's equity markets, Ascential climbed 1.73% after the publishing, events, and B2B consultancy group announced that its trading was on track to meet full-year expectations.

The company attributed its positive outlook to strong growth in its marketing and fintech operations.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals edged up by 0.36% following its agreement to acquire parts of Xellia Pharmaceuticals for up to $185m.

The deal included Xellia's US finished dosage form business and assets, a manufacturing facility in Cleveland, Ohio, sales and marketing capabilities, and a research and development centre in Zagreb, Croatia.

On the downside, SSP Group's shares fell by 2.02% after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock from 'neutral' to 'sell' and reduced the price target from 255p to 160p.

Aston Martin Lagonda experienced a significant drop of 3.55%, following a price target cut by Jefferies from 275p to 250p.

Utilities were under pressure, with Severn Trent down 2.6%, SSE falling 1.58%, and United Utilities Group dropping 2.41%.

Mining giants Glencore and Rio Tinto also saw declines, losing 1.36% and 0.73% respectively, due to falling copper prices.

The drop was driven by weaker-than-expected Chinese industrial figures, with industrial production declining to 5.6% from a previous 6.7%, below the market forecast of 6.2%.

James Harte at TickMill Group noted that the downturn in Chinese factory data has significantly impacted copper prices, shedding around 15% recently due to fears of reduced demand from China, the world's largest copper consumer.

Greencore Group shares dipped by 1.48% after the company recalled several sandwiches containing salad leaves sold in major supermarkets due to an E.coli scare.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,142.15 -0.06% FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,159.72 0.20% techMARK (TASX) 4,780.88 0.11%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 14,485.00p 4.70% Beazley (BEZ) 673.50p 2.90% B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 474.50p 2.48% Entain (ENT) 669.20p 2.01% St James's Place (STJ) 530.00p 1.92% Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) 2,234.00p 1.92% Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,510.00p 1.62% Airtel Africa (AAF) 120.40p 1.52% Barclays (BARC) 204.90p 1.44% Admiral Group (ADM) 2,585.00p 1.33%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Convatec Group (CTEC) 244.20p -3.78% Melrose Industries (MRO) 583.20p -3.76% Severn Trent (SVT) 2,385.00p -3.60% Ocado Group (OCDO) 347.50p -2.74% United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,011.50p -2.41% Croda International (CRDA) 4,059.00p -1.65% SSE (SSE) 1,737.00p -1.58% Glencore (GLEN) 448.35p -1.36% Smith & Nephew (SN.) 987.20p -1.24% Aviva (AV.) 470.50p -1.16%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 174.80p 3.31% Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 215.80p 3.24% TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 586.50p 2.96% Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 198.40p 2.90% AO World (AO.) 108.60p 2.84% Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 741.50p 2.69% Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 248.20p 2.56% SThree (STEM) 421.00p 2.55% Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 543.00p 2.55% Just Group (JUST) 105.40p 2.53%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 141.30p -3.55% PPHE Hotel Group Ltd (PPH) 1,270.00p -3.42% Indivior (INDV) 1,281.00p -2.81% Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,344.00p -2.74% Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 1,084.00p -2.61% Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust (ORIT) 70.40p -2.49% International Workplace Group (IWG) 173.70p -2.42% Mobico Group (MCG) 46.10p -2.37% Ferrexpo (FXPO) 43.00p -2.27% SSP Group (SSPG) 165.50p -2.02%