London open: FTSE nudges lower as Ocado tumbles

(Sharecast News) - London stocks nudged lower in early trade on Tuesday as the latest UK jobs data showed that wages grew at their fastest pace in more than 20 years in the three months to November, adding pressure on the Bank of England to hike rates.

At 0910 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 7,853.65.

Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed that regular pay, excluding bonuses, was up 6.4% on an annual basis. Excluding the Covid pandemic, this marks the biggest jump since records began in 2001.

Adjusted for inflation, however, wages were down 2.6%.

The figures also showed that the unemployment rate ticked up to 3.7% in the three months to November, from 3.5% in the previous quarter.

In addition, the number of job vacancies declined by 75,000 in October to December versus the previous three months.

Ashley Webb, UK economist at Capital Economics, said: "Consistent with the economy proving to be more resilient than expected, November's labour market data show that conditions remain tight and wage growth stayed strong.

"This will only add further weight to the case for the Bank of England to raise interest rates from 3.50% now, perhaps to 4.50% in the coming months."

Also weighing on the mood was the release of data showing that China's economy slowed in 2022 to one of its worst levels in nearly 50 years.

In equity markets, Ocado was the worst performer on the FTSE 100 after it said that fourth-quarter sales at Ocado Retail - its 50:50 joint venture with Marks & Spencer - were more or less flat as customers shopped less and bought fewer items.

Retail revenues nudged up just 0.3% versus the same quarter a year earlier, coming in below the company's guidance for mid-single digit sales growth.

Quilter slid after a downgrade to 'underweight' at JPMorgan, while credit-checking firm Experian fell despite reporting a jump in third-quarter revenues.

On the upside, recruiter Hays gained after it posted an 8% increase in second-quarter fees.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,853.65 -0.08% FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,027.92 -0.27% techMARK (TASX) 4,553.36 -0.14%

FTSE 100 - Risers

SSE (SSE) 1,717.50p 2.08% Weir Group (WEIR) 1,828.50p 1.02% BT Group (BT.A) 131.60p 1.00% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 108.22p 0.99% Centrica (CNA) 97.38p 0.93% 3i Group (III) 1,453.50p 0.90% BAE Systems (BA.) 837.80p 0.75% National Grid (NG.) 1,029.00p 0.68% Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,063.00p 0.63% DCC (CDI) (DCC) 4,535.00p 0.58%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 755.00p -6.56% Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,371.00p -1.93% Experian (EXPN) 2,916.00p -1.32% Sage Group (SGE) 763.00p -1.14% Unilever (ULVR) 4,183.00p -1.11% Airtel Africa (AAF) 118.20p -1.01% Halma (HLMA) 2,145.00p -0.97% JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 160.35p -0.87% Mondi (MNDI) 1,492.50p -0.86% Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 772.80p -0.85%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 241.80p 1.77% Hays (HAS) 121.10p 1.76% Tullow Oil (TLW) 39.08p 1.66% Bank of Georgia Group (BGEO) 2,645.00p 1.54% Synthomer (SYNT) 152.30p 1.20% VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 470.00p 1.08% Babcock International Group (BAB) 304.20p 1.06% TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 177.70p 0.99% Softcat (SCT) 1,229.00p 0.99% Energean (ENOG) 1,335.00p 0.98%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

NCC Group (NCC) 193.80p -6.38% Quilter (QLT) 97.68p -4.05% Volution Group (FAN) 389.50p -3.23% Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 532.00p -2.39% IP Group (IPO) 64.00p -2.36% Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 157.20p -2.21% Investec (INVP) 525.00p -2.13% Dunelm Group (DNLM) 1,049.00p -1.96% Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,808.00p -1.89% 4Imprint Group (FOUR) 4,540.00p -1.84%