London open: Stocks edge down ahead of data raft

(Sharecast News) - London stocks fell in early trade on Wednesday as investors eyed a raft of UK data releases and third-quarter US GDP figures. At 0900 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 7,432.40.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Hopes for a softer landing for the mighty US economy are failing to lift overall sentiment in Europe, as investors focus on the risks of sticky inflation.

"Comments from a usually hawkish Fed policymaker that there could be room for cuts to interest rates if the price spiral keeps heading in the right direction look set to push Wall Street higher at the open.

"But the FTSE 100 has opened on the backfoot with little to spark a wave of buying. Central bank policymakers in Europe have been more guarded, with Christine Lagarde of the ECB stressing that wage pressures remain elevated, and Andrew Bailey of the Bank of England warning that higher rates will be needed for a prolonged period."

On the macroeconomic front, third-quarter US GDP figures are due at 1330 GMT. On home shores, net lending, consumer credit and mortgage approvals data for October are scheduled for release at 0930 GMT.

In equity markets, Asia-focused banks Standard Chartered and HSBC were among the worst performers on the FTSE 100, while Aviva was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'hold' from 'buy' at Deutsche Bank.

Pennon Group was in the red as it posted a near-60% drop in half-year underlying pre-tax profit.

Elsewhere, Halfords tumbled as it narrowed its guidance range for annual profit, highlighting a softening in demand for its big-ticket discretionary categories. It now expects FY24 underlying pre-tax profit of between £48m and £53m, down from previous guidance of £48m to £58m.

On the upside, Ocado surged as chairman Rick Haythornthwaite bought 9,500 ordinary shares in the company for 561p each, paying about £53,000.

Precious metals miners Fresnillo and Endeavour shone as gold prices rose.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,432.40 -0.31% FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,444.38 0.31% techMARK (TASX) 4,077.21 -0.19%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 599.20p 5.68% Fresnillo (FRES) 577.80p 3.36% Rightmove (RMV) 537.60p 1.90% Land Securities Group (LAND) 632.60p 1.70% Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,827.00p 1.61% SEGRO (SGRO) 821.40p 1.58% Mondi (MNDI) 1,398.00p 1.23% M&G (MNG) 207.30p 1.22% Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 2,824.00p 1.22% Unite Group (UTG) 985.00p 1.08%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Standard Chartered (STAN) 647.40p -2.23% Centrica (CNA) 146.00p -2.11% HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 594.90p -2.03% Aviva (AV.) 416.90p -1.81% Beazley (BEZ) 549.50p -1.26% Rentokil Initial (RTO) 437.60p -1.15% BAE Systems (BA.) 1,038.50p -1.14% Barclays (BARC) 138.76p -0.97% Compass Group (CPG) 2,051.00p -0.97% Whitbread (WTB) 3,148.00p -0.91%

FTSE 250 - Risers

IP Group (IPO) 53.40p 3.89% Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 189.80p 3.60% NCC Group (NCC) 116.60p 3.19% easyJet (EZJ) 434.20p 3.09% Pets at Home Group (PETS) 302.40p 2.93% Harbour Energy (HBR) 224.00p 2.61% Premier Foods (PFD) 132.00p 2.48% Darktrace (DARK) 350.10p 2.46% Spirent Communications (SPT) 111.40p 2.39% British Land Company (BLND) 353.80p 2.31%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Digital 9 Infrastructure NPV (DGI9) 37.50p -4.58% Helios Towers (HTWS) 74.55p -2.29% Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 122.00p -2.24% Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 635.00p -2.01% HGCapital Trust (HGT) 400.00p -1.96% Mitie Group (MTO) 100.60p -1.57% Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,011.00p -1.56% FirstGroup (FGP) 159.70p -1.42% Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 210.00p -1.41% QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 315.60p -1.25%