London open: Stocks nudge down amid raft of corporate news

(Sharecast News) - London stocks nudged a touch lower in early trade on Thursday following heavy losses in the previous session, as investors waded through a deluge of corporate news. At 0910 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 7,439.19, as market participants continued to mull recent comments from central bankers and the potential for rate cuts to come later than expected.

In equity markets, Flutter Entertainment surged to the top of the FTSE 100 despite saying that fourth-quarter revenues in the US were below guidance due to customer-friendly results. Ladbrokes owner Entain also advanced.

Currys surged as the electricals retailer said full-year profit was set to be ahead of consensus expectations despite reporting a drop in sales.

Travis Perkins racked up strong gains after the builders' merchant and home improvement retailer reported a stabilisation of pricing in the fourth quarter and announced plans to ramp-up its cost-savings programme.

Cranswick was also a high riser as the meat producer said that adjusted pre-tax profit for the year to the end of March 2024 was set to be ahead of the board's previous expectations after stronger-than-expected trading in the third quarter.

Specialty chemicals firm Elementis rallied as it said 2023 profit would be slightly ahead of expectations after a "resilient" fourth-quarter performance.

On the downside, B&M and Compass were among the worst performers as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.

Sage Group lost ground despite backing its expectations for the full year and posting a rise in first-quarter revenue.

Watches of Switzerland tumbled after it slashed its annual revenue guidance as demand for its luxury products fell amid the cost-of-living crisis, particularly in the UK, and said it expected volatile trading conditions to remain for the rest of its fiscal year.

Harbour Energy and Energean both slid after trading and operations updates.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,439.19 -0.10% FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,865.32 0.01% techMARK (TASX) 4,294.80 0.61%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 14,790.00p 12.05% Entain (ENT) 946.80p 5.81% Anglo American (AAL) 1,780.80p 1.76% St James's Place (STJ) 628.20p 1.29% Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,444.00p 1.15% Legal & General Group (LGEN) 243.00p 1.00% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 299.10p 0.84% CRH (CDI) (CRH) 5,374.00p 0.60% Barratt Developments (BDEV) 522.40p 0.54% Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 141.65p 0.53%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 519.60p -4.31% Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,928.00p -1.88% Sage Group (SGE) 1,134.50p -1.82% Compass Group (CPG) 2,155.00p -1.69% IMI (IMI) 1,584.00p -1.49% Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 249.80p -1.46% Admiral Group (ADM) 2,524.00p -1.44% Pearson (PSON) 946.20p -1.38% BAE Systems (BA.) 1,178.00p -1.17% Ocado Group (OCDO) 573.20p -1.17%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ferrexpo (FXPO) 79.20p 9.39% Currys (CURY) 48.96p 7.70% Elementis (ELM) 122.60p 4.25% Travis Perkins (TPK) 769.40p 4.00% Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 94.40p 3.06% AJ Bell (AJB) 305.40p 2.76% TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 537.00p 2.48% FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 436.50p 2.34% Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 264.80p 2.16% Centamin (DI) (CEY) 93.45p 2.13%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 416.80p -28.99% Harbour Energy (HBR) 298.90p -5.65% Discoverie Group (DSCV) 741.00p -2.50% Future (FUTR) 746.50p -2.16% Energean (ENOG) 920.00p -2.13% Dunelm Group (DNLM) 1,019.00p -2.11% TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 137.40p -2.00% Rathbones Group (RAT) 1,634.00p -1.92% Twentyfour Income Fund Limited Ord Red (TFIF) 102.80p -1.91% Big Yellow Group (BYG) 1,087.00p -1.81%