London open: Stocks fall as recession fears continue to weigh

(Sharecast News) - London stocks fell in early trade on Friday as worries about a global recession continued to dent sentiment. At 0825 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.8% at 7,112.40.

Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Fears rattling financial markets show little sign of subsiding, with investors spooked about signs of looming recessions, while inflation stays stubbornly high.

"Fresh falls on Wall Street marked a miserable milestone with the S&P 500 tumbling in the first half of the year by 20.6%, a fall not seen since 1970. The tech-heavy NASDAQ, which has been wracked by volatility, has plummeted by a third this year and is on track for the biggest ever yearly drop.

"There are concerns that, just like in the seventies era, demand and inflation won't fall back easily, and that the Federal Reserve and other central banks will have to step on the accelerator of interest rate hikes to bring red hot prices under control. The risk is that could see economies slam into a brick wall of recession, with ripple effects around the world."

On the macro front, investors were eyeing June manufacturing PMIs for the eurozone and UK, due at 0900 BST and 0930 BST, respectively.

Meanwhile, there wasn't a whole lot going on in equity markets, but Abrdn and Jupiter Fund Management were both knocked lower by a rating downgrade at Citi. The bank cut its stance on both asset managers to 'sell'.

"We see downside risks for almost all names, but see the biggest risk of disappointment at Abrdn and Jupiter," Citi said in a note on the sector.

Elsewhere, Chemring dipped even as it said the UK's Serious Fraud Office had closed its investigation into the activities of the Technology Solutions subsidiary and associated persons.

Oxford Biomedica gained as it signed a new three-year deal which would facilitate potential future manufacturing opportunities for the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,112.40 -0.79% FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,532.56 -0.72% techMARK (TASX) 4,255.86 -0.47%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,835.00p 0.71% Airtel Africa (AAF) 135.60p 0.30% Centrica (CNA) 80.18p 0.22% Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 3,464.00p 0.17% Land Securities Group (LAND) 665.00p 0.15% RS Group (RS1) 870.00p 0.12% Unilever (ULVR) 3,724.00p 0.08% DCC (CDI) (DCC) 5,102.00p 0.08% Meggitt (MGGT) 789.60p 0.08% BAE Systems (BA.) 830.80p 0.07%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Abrdn (ABDN) 154.75p -3.19% Anglo American (AAL) 2,862.00p -2.55% Harbour Energy (HBR) 354.80p -2.47% Fresnillo (FRES) 749.00p -2.32% Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,580.00p -2.32% Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 770.60p -2.18% Barratt Developments (BDEV) 448.30p -1.99% Schroders (SDR) 2,620.00p -1.95% Glencore (GLEN) 437.30p -1.75% JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 113.40p -1.73%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Petershill Partners (PHLL) 230.00p 6.98% Spirent Communications (SPT) 260.00p 4.59% CMC Markets (CMCX) 280.00p 2.19% XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 2,895.00p 1.58% easyJet (EZJ) 371.40p 1.31% Royal Mail (RMG) 272.40p 1.00% Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 131.50p 0.57% Ruffer Investment Company Ltd Red PTG Pref Shares (RICA) 301.50p 0.50% Greencoat UK Wind (UKW) 154.50p 0.39% Carnival (CCL) 621.60p 0.32%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 140.60p -5.06% Network International Holdings (NETW) 180.00p -4.66% ICG Enterprise Trust (ICGT) 1,050.00p -2.78% Baillie Gifford Japan Trust (BGFD) 684.00p -2.43% Ashmore Group (ASHM) 216.80p -2.25% AJ Bell (AJB) 262.80p -2.16% Genus (GNS) 2,454.00p -2.15% Balfour Beatty (BBY) 248.80p -2.12% Coats Group (COA) 61.00p -2.09% Hammerson (HMSO) 18.57p -2.08%