London midday: Stocks turn higher as Auto Trader rallies; US data eyed

(Sharecast News) - London stocks had reversed earlier losses to trade up by midday on Thursday, with Auto Trader pacing the gains on the back of well-received results, as investors eyed US GDP and PCE figures. The FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 8,200.10, having opened in the red as worries about higher-for-longer interest rates continued to weigh on sentiment.

Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets, said: "European markets are attempting to regain lost ground after a sharp collapse that saw equities throughout the US, Asia and Europe tumble.

"At the heart of this move was a surge in US treasury yields, as weak demand for the latest seven-year treasury auction brought concerns that we might see yields have to rise further due to a higher-for-longer outlook around US interest rates."

Investors were looking ahead to the release of US Q1 GDP figures at 1330 BST and the latest PCE numbers on Friday.

"Today sees the US economy come back into the limelight, with the latest revision of the Q1 GDP figure released alongside trade balance and unemployment claims data," said Mahony. "Coming off the back of a period that saw market sentiment set back by stronger-than-expected PMI, durable goods, and consumer sentiment surveys, markets will be firmly looking at todays data through the prism of a 'bad news is good news'."

On home shores, the latest figures from Zoopla showed the number of homes coming to market has soared as the recovery in the UK housing market continued to gain pace.

According to the latest Zoopla UK house price index, the average estate agent had 31 homes for sale in April, up 20% year-on-year and the highest amount in eight years. The number of agreed sales was also higher, up 13% year-on-year.

The greater number of homes coming to market meant annual house price inflation was largely flat, however, at 0.1%.

The average house price in the UK is now £264,300.

Richard Donnell, executive director, research, at Zoopla, said: "There is a record high supply of homes for sale, which shows renewed confidence among sellers, many of whom are also buyers."

But he warned: "Greater choice will keep prices in check over 2024. The general election is likely to dampen the number of sales agreed in the run up to summer."

In equity markets, Auto Trader surged to the top of the FTSE 100 as it said the new financial year had got off to a strong start and posted in jump in annual sales and profits.

The car marketplace specialist said revenues in the year to 30 May rose 14% to £570.9m. Within that, Auto Trader sales increased 12% to £529.7m while leasing specialist Autorama saw a 51% increase to £41.2m. Group adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 14% to £375.3m, while pre-tax profits increased 18% to £345.2m.

Troubled bootmaker Dr Martens gained as it held guidance for the current year and announced a cost savings target of up to £25m. It also posted a bigger-than-expected fall in annual revenue and operating profit as its US woes continued.

Frasers Group rallied following a report the company is closing in on a deal to take control of Ted Baker's British arm. According to Drapers, the prospective deal will not include the business's head office workers in London.

Currys advanced after Berenberg upgraded the shares to 'buy' from 'hold' and lifted the price target to 90p from 67p as it said the electricals retailer was "a sound way to play the expected improvement in UK retail demand".

Anglo American was weaker after BHP abandoned its £39bn pursuit of the London-listed miner. Both Jefferies and UBS downgraded their stance on Anglo shares, to 'hold' from 'buy' and to 'neutral' from 'buy', respectively.

Coca-Cola HBC, Centrica, Marks & Spencer and Severn Trent were all on the back foot as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,200.10 0.21% FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,611.18 0.86% techMARK (TASX) 4,806.60 0.78%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 820.80p 12.35% Frasers Group (FRAS) 860.50p 4.30% Ocado Group (OCDO) 369.40p 2.58% Barclays (BARC) 219.00p 2.26% JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 129.50p 2.21% St James's Place (STJ) 495.60p 2.19% Standard Chartered (STAN) 786.60p 2.10% Beazley (BEZ) 683.00p 1.94% Melrose Industries (MRO) 616.80p 1.68% NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 314.80p 1.52%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,187.00p -3.66% Sage Group (SGE) 1,027.50p -3.07% Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,652.00p -3.00% Severn Trent (SVT) 2,325.00p -2.43% Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,744.00p -1.78% Glencore (GLEN) 477.50p -1.19% Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) 2,328.00p -1.10% Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,424.00p -0.99% National Grid (NG.) 831.00p -0.88% Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,644.00p -0.86%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Currys (CURY) 76.05p 6.44% Dr. Martens (DOCS) 87.95p 4.83% Trainline (TRN) 315.60p 4.37% Foresight Group Holdings Limited NPV (FSG) 475.00p 4.17% Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 401.60p 3.93% Ithaca Energy (ITH) 131.50p 3.87% WH Smith (SMWH) 1,140.00p 3.64% Asia Dragon Trust (DGN) 410.00p 3.27% Harbour Energy (HBR) 324.80p 3.21% Petershill Partners (PHLL) 209.50p 3.20%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

PZ Cussons (PZC) 109.20p -4.55% Great Portland Estates (GPE) 346.50p -2.39% Ferrexpo (FXPO) 42.60p -1.96% Auction Technology Group (ATG) 561.00p -1.92% TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 539.50p -1.82% Centamin (DI) (CEY) 120.20p -1.64% Investec (INVP) 509.00p -1.45% Hammerson (HMSO) 27.18p -1.38% Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 573.50p -1.21% JPMorgan Global Growth & Income (JGGI) 541.00p -1.10%