London midday: Stocks maintain gains as BoE stands pat

(Sharecast News) - London stocks had maintained gains by midday on Thursday after the Bank of England stood pat on interest rates, as widely expected. Just after midday, the FTSE 100 was up 1.2% at 7,433.07, while sterling was 0.5% firmer against the dollar at 1.2215.

The BoE voted 6-3 to keep rates at a 15-year high of 5.25%, with Megan Greene, Jonathan Haskel and Catherine Mann all voting for a hike to 5.5%.

This marked the second meeting in a row that rates were left unchanged, after the Bank hiked 14 meetings in row from 0.1% in December 2021.

The BoE said it continues to expect GDP to grow by 0.5% this year, but downgraded its outlook for next year to zero growth, from 0.5%.

Overnight, the Fed left interest rates unchanged for the second straight meeting, as expected, with chair Jerome Powell saying that policymakers would be patient before making any further moves.

The Federal Open Market Committee concluded its two-day meeting in Washington by leaving the federal funds rate at a range between 5.25% and 5.5%.

"Tighter financial and credit conditions for households and businesses are likely to weigh on economic activity, hiring, and inflation. The extent of these effects remains uncertain. The Committee remains highly attentive to inflation risks," the FOMC said in a statement.

In a press conference, Powell said the FOMC would continue to "proceed carefully" and assess economic data as it comes through.

However, he indicated that they would wait for rate hikes and tighter financial conditions - given the recent run-up in bond yields to a 16-year high - to feed through to the economy.

In equity markets, online supermarket Ocado surged to the top of the FTSE 100. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "The true test of how investors are feeling is to look at Ocado's share price. If it is rising, there is a good chance that investors are in a risk-on mood; if it is falling then investors are feeling cautious.

"Today we've got an 8% share price hike. The stock is the FTSE 100's biggest blue-sky company - its earnings growth potential is centred on winning more clients and getting existing clients to deploy more of its technology.

"In theory, an end to interest rate pressures could mark the turning point for companies to think about increasing investment in their business. Remember that the stock market is about pricing in what investors think could happen in the future, so blue-sky stocks like Ocado have a tailwind when hopes are raised. Nonetheless, reality will always catch up and if the company doesn't meet expectations, then its shares could fall back as quickly as they've gone up."

BT rallied as it reaffirmed its full-year guidance, reporting flat revenue and a 6% increase in half-year adjusted EBITDA.

Sainsbury's gained as the supermarket chain boosted its full-year outlook after strong grocery sales throughout the first half.

Smith & Nephew racked up strong gains as it said that sales growth is now expected to be at the top end of guidance after a strong third quarter, though it warned that margins would likely not grow as much as hoped.

Oil giant Shell gushed higher as it posted third-quarter adjusted earnings of $6.2bn and announced a $3.5bn share buyback over the next three months. Earnings were up from $5.1bn in the previous three months, but down from $9.5bn in the same period a year earlier, and only slightly behind expectations of $6.48bn.

Shell said the results reflected a "robust" operational performance, and higher oil prices and refining margins.

Trainline surged as the rail and coach booking platform said it saw double-digit growth across the board in its first half, and narrowed its full-year guidance towards the upper end of the forecast range.

OSB Group, Helios and Derwent also racked up strong gains after updates.

On the downside, Hikma slumped as it lifted full-year guidance for two out of three of its businesses, but cut annual sales guidance for the injectables segment.

Haleon fell as it reaffirmed its full-year targets but posted slightly weaker-than-expected third-quarter revenues.

Ashmore and Hilton Food Group were weaker as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,433.07 1.23% FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,738.82 3.22% techMARK (TASX) 4,079.65 1.15%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 523.40p 9.98% BT Group (BT.A) 120.40p 8.37% SEGRO (SGRO) 754.00p 6.29% Land Securities Group (LAND) 606.80p 5.79% Unite Group (UTG) 940.50p 5.50% Smith & Nephew (SN.) 973.40p 5.41% Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 272.90p 4.24% Ashtead Group (AHT) 4,917.00p 4.09% Croda International (CRDA) 4,488.00p 3.96% Barratt Developments (BDEV) 433.30p 3.78%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,837.50p -4.30% Haleon (HLN) 321.80p -2.81% GSK (GSK) 1,388.80p -2.40% Centrica (CNA) 159.45p -1.76% BAE Systems (BA.) 1,102.50p -1.34% Severn Trent (SVT) 2,683.00p -0.70% BP (BP.) 491.15p -0.66% United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,082.50p -0.51% Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 2,956.00p -0.27% Unilever (ULVR) 3,881.50p -0.13%

FTSE 250 - Risers

OSB Group (OSB) 327.40p 13.52% CAB Payments Holdings (CABP) 68.35p 12.05% Helios Towers (HTWS) 68.65p 11.72% Tritax Eurobox (GBP) (EBOX) 48.80p 10.28% Trainline (TRN) 289.20p 10.05% Derwent London (DLN) 2,030.00p 10.03% CLS Holdings (CLI) 93.80p 9.58% LXI Reit (LXI) 94.35p 9.08% Balanced Commercial Property Trust Limited (BCPT) 70.40p 8.81% PureTech Health (PRTC) 162.20p 8.57%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Ashmore Group (ASHM) 164.40p -3.24% W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 88.80p -2.84% Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 626.40p -2.67% Digital 9 Infrastructure NPV (DGI9) 45.80p -1.40% Hilton Food Group (HFG) 659.00p -1.20% PZ Cussons (PZC) 132.00p -1.20% Ithaca Energy (ITH) 165.90p -0.30% Discoverie Group (DSCV) 628.00p -0.16% Network International Holdings (NETW) 388.20p 0.05% Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 199.50p 0.10%