London open: Stocks nudge up ahead of ECB announcement

(Sharecast News) - London stocks nudged up in early trade on Thursday following an upbeat close on Wall Street, as investors awaited an expected 25 basis points rate cut from the European Central Bank. At 0900 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 8,252.26.

Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The FTSE 100 has a spring in its step this morning, after taking its cue from Wall Street, where technology stocks rose sharply overnight. Closer to home, there's renewed optimism that the ECB will cut interest rates in its decision later today, which is adding additional enthusiasm into equities.

"The lingering question, however, is what the interest rate roadmap looks like after June. Even if a cut arrives today, markets will be more interested in understanding expectations for the rest of the year."

The ECB announcement is due at 1315 BST. On home shores, the S&P Global/CIPS construction PMI for May is scheduled for release at 0930 BST.

In equity markets, JD Sports was the standout riser on the FTSE 100 after US sportswear retailer Lululemon lifted its profit outlook.

Wood Group surged as it said late on Wednesday that it had decided to "engage" with Sidara after the Dubai-based engineering and consulting firm made an improved and final takeover proposal last week at 230p a share.

"The board remains confident in Wood's strategic direction and its fundamental prospects," it said.

"However, having now weighed all relevant factors including, in particular, feedback received from Wood shareholders, the board has decided to engage with Sidara to determine if a firm offer can be made on the same financial terms as the final proposal. Accordingly, the board will grant Sidara access to due diligence materials."

Elsewhere, Mitie gained as the outsourcer said annual profits surged as revenues hit a record £4.5bn - in line with company expectations.

On the downside, Vodafone, WPP, Sainsburys, National Grid, Informa, Johnson Matthey, Assura and Energean were all weaker as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,252.26 0.06% FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,739.08 0.32% techMARK (TASX) 4,849.92 0.13%

FTSE 100 - Risers

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 129.80p 2.77% Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,048.00p 2.04% Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,194.00p 2.00% Fresnillo (FRES) 589.00p 1.99% Rentokil Initial (RTO) 441.50p 1.49% Sage Group (SGE) 1,054.00p 1.49% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 459.30p 1.32% Experian (EXPN) 3,771.00p 1.15% Melrose Industries (MRO) 637.00p 1.14% Glencore (GLEN) 474.35p 0.91%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Vodafone Group (VOD) 72.38p -5.56% WPP (WPP) 771.60p -4.34% Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 263.40p -3.87% National Grid (NG.) 867.20p -3.82% Tesco (TSCO) 303.70p -2.03% B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 497.10p -1.88% Informa (INF) 840.40p -1.29% Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,954.00p -1.11% Ocado Group (OCDO) 358.20p -1.10% Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 305.70p -1.10%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Wood Group (John) (WG.) 204.20p 9.78% Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 148.50p 5.32% Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,734.00p 4.21% Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 114.00p 3.64% JTC (JTC) 900.00p 2.86% Hochschild Mining (HOC) 190.40p 2.37% North Atlantic Smaller Companies Inv Trust (NAS) 4,140.00p 1.97% Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 421.20p 1.74% Genuit Group (GEN) 460.00p 1.66% WH Smith (SMWH) 1,166.00p 1.66%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Drax Group (DRX) 493.40p -2.87% Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,669.00p -2.74% Indivior (INDV) 1,350.00p -2.39% Pets at Home Group (PETS) 311.20p -2.20% Energean (ENOG) 1,077.00p -2.00% Assura (AGR) 41.70p -1.60% Capital Gearing Trust (CGT) 4,690.00p -1.57% JPMorgan Emerging Markets Inv Trust (JMG) 101.60p -1.36% Marshalls (MSLH) 315.00p -1.10% Games Workshop Group (GAW) 9,910.00p -1.00%