Investment accounts
Adult accounts
Child accounts
Choosing Fidelity
Choosing Fidelity
Why invest with us Current offers Fees and charges Open an account Transfer investments
Financial advice & support
Fidelity’s Services
Fidelity’s Services
Financial advice Retirement Wealth Management Investor Centre (London) Bereavement
Guidance and tools
Guidance and tools
Choosing investments Choosing accounts ISA calculator Retirement calculators
Share dealing
Choose your shares
Tools and information
Tools and information
Share prices and markets Chart and compare shares Stock market news Shareholder perks IPOs and placings
Pensions & retirement
Pensions, tax & tools
Saving for retirement
Approaching / In retirement
Approaching / In retirement
Speak to a specialist Creating a retirement plan Taking tax-free cash Pension drawdown Annuities Investing in retirement Investment Pathways
London open: Stocks gain ahead of key policy announcements; HSBC results in focus
(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Monday as investors mulled results from the likes of HSBC and Pearson, and looked ahead to a series of key central bank policy announcements this week. At 0845 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.8% at 7,351.45.
Rate decisions are due this week from the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan and the US Federal Reserve.
The BoE is expected to keep interest rates unchanged on Thursday.
Tickmill Group said: "The LSEG's assessment shows a 90% probability that the BoE will maintain the current rates. While the BoE is likely to hold rates steady, the market remains divided on whether there could be another rate hike later this year.
"According to a recent Reuters poll, 16 out of 28 respondents indicated that the likelihood of another rate hike this year is high. The BoE's messaging and the language in its policy statement will be crucial in shaping market expectations. The central bank's communication will play a significant role in determining whether or not a rate increase is anticipated in the near future."
On the macro front, net lending and mortgage approvals figures are due out at 0930 GMT.
In equity markets, Airtel Africa jumped to the top of the FTSE 100 as it reported a rise in half-year revenues and said it expects to deliver an improved EBITDA margin in FY24 versus a year earlier.
Ascential rocketed after agreeing to sell its digital commerce business and its product design business, WGSN, for a combined £1.4bn. The digital commerce business will be sold to Omnicom for around £741m, while WGSN will be sold to Apax Partners for up to £700m.
HSBC was firmer after it posted a smaller-than-expected jump in third-quarter profits and announced a $3bn share buyback. In the three months to the end of September, pre-tax profit rose to $7.7bn from $3.2bn in the same period a year earlier, falling short of consensus expectations of $8.1bn.
Matt Britzman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown: "There wasn't much in these results to upset the apple cart and the fresh buyback is testament to a strong capital position.
"HSBC is the only major UK-listed bank to still be up year-to-date after Standard Chartered left the club last week. Yet the valuation still looks downbeat, paving the way for some impressive investor returns."
Education publisher Pearson advanced as it lifted its profit guidance for the full year by £20m despite a slowdown in revenue growth in the third quarter.
Mike Ashely's Frasers Group gained after saying it had sold the Missguided fast-fashion brand to Shein for an undisclosed sum, and hinted at further potential collaborations with the Chinese ecommerce giant.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,351.45 0.83% FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,016.27 0.89% techMARK (TASX) 3,984.20 0.82%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Airtel Africa (AAF) 116.80p 6.38% WPP (WPP) 714.00p 2.70% St James's Place (STJ) 635.00p 2.68% Rightmove (RMV) 492.00p 2.67% Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,604.00p 2.17% Prudential (PRU) 861.40p 2.16% Informa (INF) 715.40p 1.94% Centrica (CNA) 158.00p 1.87% Legal & General Group (LGEN) 211.10p 1.73% Weir Group (WEIR) 1,709.00p 1.70%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 520.40p -0.31% Ocado Group (OCDO) 481.40p -0.29% Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 214.00p -0.23% NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 181.60p -0.22% Shell (SHEL) 2,702.00p 0.06% Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 643.20p 0.06% Diploma (DPLM) 2,818.00p 0.07% Halma (HLMA) 1,824.50p 0.08% Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 3,784.00p 0.11% Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 256.00p 0.20%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Ascential (ASCL) 294.60p 36.64% CAB Payments Holdings (CABP) 49.63p 4.36% Ruffer Investment Company Ltd Red PTG Pref Shares (RICA) 273.00p 4.20% Dr. Martens (DOCS) 119.00p 3.48% 4Imprint Group (FOUR) 5,040.00p 2.86% Renishaw (RSW) 3,034.00p 2.85% TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 422.40p 2.67% Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 86.60p 2.61% Ashmore Group (ASHM) 171.90p 2.50% Darktrace (DARK) 350.20p 2.46%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 199.90p -2.39% Baillie Gifford Japan Trust (BGFD) 636.00p -1.70% VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 433.00p -1.03% JPMorgan Japanese Inv Trust (JFJ) 436.50p -1.02% Templeton Emerging Markets Inv Trust (TEM) 142.00p -0.84% GCP Infrastructure Investments Ltd (GCP) 60.60p -0.82% Ithaca Energy (ITH) 162.70p -0.79% Witan Inv Trust (WTAN) 209.00p -0.71% RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,500.00p -0.64% Indivior (INDV) 1,566.00p -0.63%
Share this article
Related Sharecast Articles
Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.
Award-winning online share dealing
Search, compare and select from thousands of shares.
Expert insights into investing your money
Our team of experts explore the world of share dealing.
Policies and important information
Accessibility | Conflicts of interest statement | Consumer Duty Target Market | Consumer Duty Value Assessment Statement | Cookie policy | Diversity and Inclusion | Doing Business with Fidelity | Fidelity gender pay report | Investing in Fidelity funds | Legal information | Modern slavery | Mutual respect policy | Privacy statement | Remuneration policy | Security | Statutory and Regulatory disclosures | Whistleblowing policy
Please remember that past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance, the performance of investments is not guaranteed, and the value of your investments can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest. When investments have particular tax features, these will depend on your personal circumstances and tax rules may change in the future. This website does not contain any personal recommendations for a particular course of action, service or product. You should regularly review your investment objectives and choices and, if you are unsure whether an investment is suitable for you, you should contact an authorised financial adviser. Before opening an account, please read the ‘Doing Business with Fidelity’ document which incorporates our client terms. Prior to investing into a fund, please read the relevant key information document which contains important information about the fund.
This website is issued by Financial Administration Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (FCA Register number 122169) and registered in England and Wales under company number 1629709 whose registered address is Beech Gate, Millfield Lane, Lower Kingswood, Tadworth, Surrey, KT20 6RP.