London open: Stocks fall ahead of BoE announcement

(Sharecast News) - London stocks edged lower in early trade on Thursday as investors eyed the latest policy announcement from the Bank of England. At 0845 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 9,139.37.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "The Bank of England is widely expected to cut interest rates later today by 0.25% to 4%, although how much of an impact it will have on an unstable UK economy is moot. On the one hand, there are sufficient emerging signs of weakness which invite the need for stimulus, although inflation remains a nagging concern.

"Of equal interest to the decision itself will be the accompanying comments, which may reveal the bank's latest guidance on the likelihood of any further cuts to come as the economy continues to flounder."

The BoE decision is due at midday.

Figures released earlier by Halifax showed that house prices rose in July at the fastest monthly pace since the start of the year.

House prices increased 0.4% on the month following a 0.1% rise in June. On the year, prices rose 2.4% in July, down from 2.7% growth a month earlier.

The average price of a home stood at £298,237 last month, up from £297,157 in June.

Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said: "While the national average remains close to a record high, it's worth remembering that prices vary widely across the country depending on a number of factors, not least location and property type.

"Challenges remain for those looking to move up or onto the property ladder. But with mortgage rates continuing to ease and wages still rising, the picture on affordability is gradually improving.

"Combined with the more flexible affordability assessments now in place, the result is a housing market that continues to show resilience, with activity levels holding up well.

"We expect house prices to follow a steady path of modest gains through the rest of the year."

In equity markets, CRH was the standout gainer on the FTSE 100 as it lifted its financial guidance for 2025, noting that underlying demand in its key end-use markets remains positive.

InterContinental Hotels rallied as it posted a 34.1% jump in first-half pre-tax profit and said it remains on track to meet full-year consensus profit and earnings expectations.

Flutter Entertainment gained following well-received results from US sports betting firm DraftKings.

Harbour Energy surged as it narrowed upwards production guidance, unveiled a $100m share buyback and reported a jump in half-year adjusted earnings.

Serco pushed higher as the government contractor held updated guidance, posted a rise in half-year earnings and unveiled a £50m share buyback.

On the downside, Hikma Pharmaceuticals tumbled after first-half results.

WPP fell sharply as the advertising agency reported a slump in half-year earnings as clients spent less and the use of artificial intelligence hit the bottom line. Operating profit fell 48% to £221m on the back of a 7.8% decline in revenue to £6.6bn.

Morgan Advanced Materials fell as it warned that full-year adjusted operating profit was set to be around the bottom of the consensus range due to weak market conditions, mix effects and foreign exchange headwinds.

AstraZeneca, BT and Segro lost ground as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,139.37 -0.27% FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,933.77 0.04% techMARK (TASX) 5,265.60 -0.47%

FTSE 100 - Risers

CRH (CDI) (CRH) 7,792.00p 5.93% InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 9,150.00p 5.41% Halma (HLMA) 3,334.00p 3.16% Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 23,510.00p 3.02% Fresnillo (FRES) 1,698.00p 2.60% Whitbread (WTB) 3,090.00p 1.61% Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 4,110.00p 1.48% Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 6,800.00p 1.34% Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,384.50p 0.95% Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,694.00p 0.90%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,758.00p -6.69% WPP (WPP) 381.90p -5.02% BT Group (BT.A) 205.90p -2.92% Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,339.00p -2.90% Glencore (GLEN) 278.95p -2.04% AstraZeneca (AZN) 10,842.00p -1.92% Vodafone Group (VOD) 84.10p -1.57% SEGRO (SGRO) 644.80p -1.53% BAE Systems (BA.) 1,830.00p -1.51% Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 330.40p -1.37%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Harbour Energy (HBR) 232.00p 13.32% Serco Group (SRP) 222.20p 6.49% Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 339.00p 2.41% Helios Towers (HTWS) 121.20p 2.02% Hochschild Mining (HOC) 311.40p 1.90% Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 239.50p 1.48% Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 275.00p 1.48% Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,350.00p 1.43% Endeavour Mining (EDV) 2,510.00p 1.29% Pagegroup (PAGE) 270.40p 1.27%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 199.60p -11.49% SSP Group (SSPG) 162.90p -3.50% Man Group (EMG) 160.00p -3.13% JPMorgan Indian Investment Trust (JII) 1,072.00p -2.55% Dr. Martens (DOCS) 75.55p -2.33% AO World (AO.) 86.00p -2.27% Travis Perkins (TPK) 573.50p -2.15% Genus (GNS) 2,450.00p -1.80% SDCL Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 56.60p -1.74% Close Brothers Group (CBG) 512.50p -1.73%