London open: FTSE falls as BP and StanChart slump; AstraZeneca rallies on results

(Sharecast News) - London stocks fell in early trade on Tuesday, dragged lower by weak performances from BP and Standard Chartered despite more gains in Asia, where the Nikkei rose 2.3% to close at another record high. At 0845 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.4% at 10,341.94.

Investors mulled the latest retail industry data out earlier, which showed that sales across the UK picked up strongly in January, as New Year promotions spurred consumer spending following two months of subdued growth.

According to the British Retail Consortium-KPMG monthly UK retail sales monitor, sales rose 2.7% year-on-year over the four weeks to 31 January.

That's up from the meagre 1.4% increase seen in November, as pre-Budget jitters and a weak Black Friday limited spend, and a 1.2% rise in December on the back of strong prior-year comparatives and people holding out for January sales.

It was also comfortably above the 12-month average growth rate of 2.3%.

According to the BRC, food sales were up 3.8% over last January, following a 3.1% year-on-year increase in December, while non-food sales rose 1.7% following the previous month's 0.3% decline.

"A drab December gave way to a brighter January as retail sales picked up pace," said BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson.

"Many shoppers had held off Christmas spending and waited for the January sales, with the start of the new year showing the strongest growth. And bargain hunting was not limited to online, with in-store sales showing the highest growth in over six months."

However, Dickinson warned of "many challenges" to come in 2026, with consumer confidence still weak and the cost of energy and packaging on the rise. Meanwhile, she cited the new Employment Rights Act - which includes the end of zero-hours contracts - as limiting the ability of retailers to offer "more flexible jobs".

In equity markets, BP gushed lower after the oil giant said it was putting its share buyback programme on hold. BP posted underlying replacement cost (RC) profit of $1.5bn in the fourth quarter, down sharply on the previous three months but up 32% year-on-year and largely in line with expectations.

Standard Chartered slumped as it announced the surprise departure of chief financial officer Diego De Giorgi and named Peter Burrill as interim group CFO. De Giorgi is stepping down with immediate effect to join Apollo as a partner and head of EMEA.

Barclays was little changed as it lifted performance targets after annual profits jumped 13% as it also unveiled a new £1bn buyback.

Pre-tax profit came in at £9.1bn, with group income up 9% to £29.1bn also boosted by the acquisition of Tesco Bank. Barclays is now aiming for a return on tangible equity of more than 14% in 2028 and capital distributions of greater than £15bn in the next two years.

Mony Group tumbled after US online insurance agent and comparison platform Insurify launched what it claimed is the insurance industry's first ChatGPT app. Admiral was also in the red.

On the upside, Croda surged as JPMorgan reiterated its 'overweight' rating on the shares and hiked the price target to 4,000p from 3,600p.

AstraZeneca rallied as it posted a jump in full-year revenues and earnings, boosted by strong demand for its oncology drugs.

The blue chip pharma saw total revenues in the year to December end rise 9%, or by 8% on a constant currency basis, to $58.7bn. Core earnings per share were 11% stronger in constant currencies, at $9.16. Both figures were in line with expectations.

Coca-Cola HBC fizzed higher after it said reported revenue grew 7.9% in 2025, driven by strong organic growth.

Homeware retailer Dunelm also gained as it reported a drop in interim profit following softer trading in the second quarter, but backed its full-year profit outlook and said sales had picked up in the third quarter.

Housebuilder Bellway advanced as hailed a "robust" first-half performance despite "subdued" trading through autumn, with total housing completions growing 2.7% to 4,702 at an average selling price of roughly £322,000. Bellway also said it was on track to achieve its full-year volume target of around 9,200 homes.

Other housebuilders followed suit, with Barratt, Persimmon and Berkeley all up.