London open: Stocks gain after US tech rally

(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Wednesday, taking their cue from a tech rally on Wall Street, which saw the Nasdaq end 1.3% higher. At 0845 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 8,279.71.

Susannah Streeter head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "An uptick in confidence has sent the FTSE 100 higher, after US tech staged a rebound, particularly the chipmaker Nvidia.

"Fears of a big imminent market wobble are now receding. However, there are still concerns hanging around about stubborn inflation, with a hotter than expected reading in Australia sending the ASX 200 in Sydney lower. Brent Crude has edged up slightly above $85 a barrel, amid continued geo-political concerns, even though there was an uptick in US crude stockpiles. This has raised questions about demand for energy across the vast economy given expectations higher interest rates are going to linger for longer."

In equity markets, online electricals retailer AO World rose as it posted a big jump in full-year profit, topping its own guidance range as its plan to pivot the business to focus on profit and cash generation bore fruit.

In the year to the end of March 2024, adjusted pre-tax profit increased 186% to £34.4m even as revenue dipped 9% to £1.04bn. AO World had guided to profit coming in at the top end of a range of £28m to £33m.

Future rocketed after a double upgrade to 'buy' at Jefferies, which hiked the price target to 1,280p from 635p.

Deliveroo shares sparked following a report that US meal delivery group Doordash flagged interest in a takeover of the UK company last month. Reuters cited sources as saying that that San Francisco-based Doordash made the approach to Deliveroo, but talks ended after disagreement on valuation. It was understood there are no talks ongoing.

PZ Cussons was in the black after it said trading for the final quarter of the financial year met management expectations, with anticipated full-year revenue of £528m.

Insurance and pensions group Phoenix nudged lower as it said it was looking to offload its SunLife business after deciding it was no longer core to operations. Phoenix said it had received a "a number of initial expressions of interest from third parties", but warned there could be no certainty at this stage that a disposal will occur.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,279.71 0.39% FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,421.27 0.28% techMARK (TASX) 4,794.53 0.30%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Convatec Group (CTEC) 234.80p 1.47% Kingfisher (KGF) 247.70p 1.43% Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,314.00p 1.43% Smith & Nephew (SN.) 992.20p 1.33% Centrica (CNA) 137.75p 1.32% Fresnillo (FRES) 566.50p 1.25% Glencore (GLEN) 459.95p 1.20% F&C Investment Trust (FCIT) 1,024.00p 1.19% B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 461.60p 1.10% Diploma (DPLM) 4,142.00p 1.07%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 14,685.00p -0.78% Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,592.00p -0.66% Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 523.50p -0.57% Mondi (MNDI) 1,487.00p -0.54% Melrose Industries (MRO) 565.00p -0.49% Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,045.00p -0.49% Legal & General Group (LGEN) 228.30p -0.39% Smith (DS) (SMDS) 369.40p -0.38% easyJet (EZJ) 462.30p -0.28% Halma (HLMA) 2,679.00p -0.26%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Future (FUTR) 1,108.00p 10.47% SThree (STEM) 444.50p 5.21% Witan Inv Trust (WTAN) 274.50p 5.17% Auction Technology Group (ATG) 588.00p 4.44% Dr. Martens (DOCS) 81.35p 4.09% AO World (AO.) 117.40p 3.89% NCC Group (NCC) 155.40p 2.91% Rotork (ROR) 333.20p 2.33% Centamin (DI) (CEY) 120.00p 2.30% Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 393.50p 2.08%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

TP Icap Group (TCAP) 198.80p -2.55% SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 66.30p -2.21% IntegraFin Holding (IHP) 342.00p -1.72% TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 129.20p -1.07% 3i Infrastructure (3IN) 321.50p -0.92% HICL Infrastructure (HICL) 123.60p -0.80% Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,525.00p -0.79% AJ Bell (AJB) 385.00p -0.77% Wood Group (John) (WG.) 195.80p -0.76% Kier Group (KIE) 136.00p -0.73%