London open: Stocks up ahead of US inflation reading; AB Foods tumbles on update

(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Wednesday, taking their cue from a solid close on Wall Street where all three benchmarks hit records amid rate cut hopes, as investors eyed the latest US inflation reading. At 0825 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 9,261.43.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The Footsie is edging higher in early trade, taking a cue from an upbeat Wall Street and a positive session for indices in Asia. Geopolitical tensions are pushing up oil prices amid spreading supply concerns. Despite weakening global growth prospects, optimism is still swirling given that an interest rate cut from the US Federal Reserve looks firmly on the cards this month.

"Sentiment could turn sour if today's inflation snapshot comes in higher than expected. The headline rate is expected to come in at 2.9% but the real number to watch will be core CPI, which strips out volatile food and fuel prices. It's broadly expected to be stable, coming in at 3.1% on an annual basis, but if it ticks higher month to month, it could put the cat among the pigeons. A sign that elevated inflation isn't just stubborn but heading higher, could dent hopes for a succession of cuts to come. It's unlikely to push the Fed off course this month, but the 'dot plot' path of cuts ahead may look shakier."

The US producer price index for August is due at 1330 BST.

In equity markets, Haleon rallied after Goldman Sachs upgraded the shares to 'buy' from 'neutral' and lifted the price target to 440p from 415p.

"Haleon shares have declined 9% since post its Capital Markets Day on May 1st which provides a buying opportunity, in our view, given that H2 25 headwinds from the US and FX/scope are reflected in consensus, while the attractive fundamentals remain intact," Goldman said.

On the downside, Associated British Foods tumbled after a trading update.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "AB Foods is finding the current environment heavy going, with the Sugar business still leaving anything but a sweet taste in the mouth for investors.

"The Sugar division accounts for around 11% of group sales, where lower European sugar and higher beet prices, along with a loss at its UK bioethanol business, Vivergo, are still expected to cause an annual loss of £40 million for the unit versus previous estimates of profit up to £75 million.

"Sales overall are expected to show a decline of 10%, as a result of which the group has decided to close its Vivergo plant and restructure its Spanish sugar business, which will result in impairment charges of around £200 million.

"The second largest unit is Grocery, which accounts for 22% of group sales, and trading is expected to be in line with the previous year. Strong showings from Ovaltine and Twinings have helped cushion the blow, while the announcement of the Hovis acquisition should result in financial sustainability as early as next year."

He pointed out that at Primark - which accounts for 47% of overall revenues - growth has been hard to come by and has come up against some tough comparatives from the prior year.

"In addition, cautious consumer sentiment is already beginning to weigh on prospects, as had largely been predicted following the measures announced in the Budget which were seen as being particularly harmful to the retail sector," Hunter said.

Elsewhere, housebuilder Vistry fell as it posted a 33% drop in interim earnings but held full-year guidance, saying it expects to deliver a year-on-year increase in profits despite an uncertain economic environment.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,261.43 0.20% FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,616.98 0.09% techMARK (TASX) 5,468.40 0.13%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Haleon (HLN) 368.10p 2.22% Pearson (PSON) 1,068.50p 1.42% HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 991.80p 1.31% Anglo American (AAL) 2,515.00p 1.00% Halma (HLMA) 3,282.00p 0.92% DCC (CDI) (DCC) 4,712.00p 0.90% Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 635.50p 0.87% Diploma (DPLM) 5,475.00p 0.83% Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 4,520.00p 0.80% Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,412.00p 0.75%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,000.00p -10.75% Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,550.50p -1.22% Vodafone Group (VOD) 87.22p -1.09% Glencore (GLEN) 298.60p -1.01% Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 96.78p -0.86% SEGRO (SGRO) 624.00p -0.79% Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 350.00p -0.77% Diageo (DGE) 1,931.50p -0.75% easyJet (EZJ) 468.10p -0.70% Persimmon (PSN) 1,080.50p -0.64%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 226.00p 4.15% The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited (TRIG) 77.70p 2.51% PPHE Hotel Group Ltd (PPH) 1,434.00p 2.43% HGCapital Trust (HGT) 496.00p 2.27% Victrex plc (VCT) 738.00p 2.22% Caledonia Investments (CLDN) 379.00p 1.88% Wickes Group (WIX) 198.40p 1.64% Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 411.00p 1.61% TR Property Inv Trust (TRY) 322.00p 1.42% Discoverie Group (DSCV) 601.00p 1.35%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Vistry Group (VTY) 575.00p -4.77% IP Group (IPO) 57.90p -3.18% Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 321.00p -2.49% Ithaca Energy (ITH) 181.80p -2.05% Harbour Energy (HBR) 219.00p -1.62% Derwent London (DLN) 1,650.00p -1.49% Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,798.00p -1.43% Zigup (ZIG) 304.50p -1.14% Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 1,153.00p -1.11% Carnival (CCL) 2,133.00p -1.02%