London midday: FTSE in the red ahead of US inflation data; Currys tumbles

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still in the red by midday on Monday following a mostly weaker session in Asia, as investors eyed this week's US consumer price inflation data. The FTSE 100 was down 0.4% at 7,626.01.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said the non-farm payrolls report on Friday was initially well received, "but on reflection the details of the release were enough to muddy the waters".

He added: "A headline number of 275000 jobs having been added in February was well ahead of the consensus of around 200000 and suggested that the labour market could still be running hot.

"However, the January figure was revised down from the previous blockbuster number of 353000 to 229000, while in terms of this release, unemployment rose from 3.7% to 3.9% and wage growth was lower than expected. The numbers have not changed the dial for an expected interest rate cut from the Fed in June, even if this set of data was inconclusive.

"This week could help clarify the position somewhat after the release of consumer and producer price reports which will give a further indication of the inflationary picture. The previous January numbers were higher than anticipated, stoking fears of renewed inflation pressure on the upside, while also seemingly confirming that the final mile of achieving the 2% target is proving to be the most difficult."

In equity markets, heavily-weighted miners were the worst performers on the FTSE 100 as metals prices fell, with Rio Tinto, Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore all sharply lower.

Currys tumbled as US private equity firm Elliott Advisors pulled from the race to take over the electricals retailer after "multiple attempts" to engage with UK electrical retail chain's board, all of which were rejected.

Vanquis Banking Group - formerly Provident Financial - tumbled as it warned on full-year profits as it continues to be redevelop its customer proposition and reset pricing, and due to costs associated with reviewing complaints mainly related to credit cards.

Iron ore producer Ferrexpo slid after saying it needs to extend the payment terms on a $58,000 bill from a supplier for its Ukrainian operations as the business's accounts continue to be frozen.

On the upside, Imperial Brands rallied as it launched the second £550m tranche of its share buyback.

Marks & Spencer also gained after an upgrade to 'outperform' from 'sector perform' at RBC Capital Markets.

"The M&S share price has come in 17% from recent highs, due to investor repositioning and concerns over the UK consumer and costs outlook," the bank said. "But there has been no great change in its strong fundamentals in our view. At 10x CY24E P/E, the shares appear to be pricing no growth, but we think M&S can deliver this with a progressive cash returns policy, thus broadening its appeal to long term investors."

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,626.01 -0.44% FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,545.97 -0.28% techMARK (TASX) 4,502.29 -0.35%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 467.10p 4.17% Admiral Group (ADM) 2,670.00p 3.77% Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,735.50p 2.54% Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 247.80p 2.06% Whitbread (WTB) 3,279.00p 1.64% Rightmove (RMV) 574.40p 1.20% AstraZeneca (AZN) 10,306.00p 1.08% B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 554.60p 0.84% Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,087.00p 0.83% Persimmon (PSN) 1,365.00p 0.74%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,712.00p -3.23% Entain (ENT) 731.40p -2.09% St James's Place (STJ) 460.60p -2.08% Glencore (GLEN) 393.10p -1.91% Anglo American (AAL) 1,818.00p -1.76% Informa (INF) 794.00p -1.76% Centrica (CNA) 130.50p -1.69% SSE (SSE) 1,625.00p -1.52% Relx plc (REL) 3,356.00p -1.44% Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,288.00p -1.44%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Darktrace (DARK) 412.10p 9.19% TP Icap Group (TCAP) 196.00p 4.14% C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 151.00p 2.03% Drax Group (DRX) 496.60p 1.95% Dr. Martens (DOCS) 92.15p 1.94% FirstGroup (FGP) 161.30p 1.64% Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,215.00p 1.61% Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 237.50p 1.50% FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 409.50p 1.49% SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 66.10p 1.38%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Ferrexpo (FXPO) 63.25p -9.90% Currys (CURY) 59.35p -7.98% Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 87.70p -2.99% Wood Group (John) (WG.) 144.10p -2.77% Close Brothers Group (CBG) 373.60p -2.45% TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 3,230.00p -2.12% Mobico Group (MCG) 75.35p -2.08% TR Property Inv Trust (TRY) 310.00p -2.05% Hochschild Mining (HOC) 107.40p -2.01% Baillie Gifford Japan Trust (BGFD) 743.00p -1.98%