London open: Stocks nudge up; ECB expected to cut rates

(Sharecast News) - London stocks nudged just a touch higher in early trade on Thursday as investors eyed an expected rate cut by the European Central Bank. At 0835 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 8,807.62.

Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "UK markets are in a holding pattern, with the FTSE 100 patiently waiting for a fresh catalyst to deliver the final push toward new all-time highs. The UK-US trade deal appears to be doing enough to insulate UK markets from excessive Trump-related volatility, though it remains to be seen how long this relative calm will last.

"It was also an uneventful opening bell for broader European markets this morning, as investors are all but certain the European Central Bank will cut rates later today down to 2%. Hopes for easing grew after Eurozone inflation dipped to 1.9% in May, just below the ECB's target. More cuts are on the cards too, with interest rates expected to fall to 1.5% by the end of the year - low enough to start actively supporting the economy.

"Meanwhile, global markets are still cautious due to persistent trade tensions, with President Trump casting doubt on progress with China. US futures are trading broadly flat this morning, with sentiment dented after the latest bout of economic data showed slowing growth in private sector jobs. Strong earnings and a resurgence in the tech trade have been enough to push US markets higher over the past month or so, but there's still a sense of caution in the air."

In equity markets, bootmaker Dr Martens surged even as it reported a slump in annual profits, as new boss Ije Nwokorie said a turnaround plan would deliver a return to earnings growth in 2026.

Pre-tax profit for the year to March fell to £8.8m from £93m as revenue dived 10% to £787.6m against a challenging macroeconomic and consumer backdrop in several of the company's core markets.

Fintech giant Wise rallied as it announced its intention to shift its primary listing from the UK to the US, saying the move would help accelerate growth and bring "substantial" strategic benefits to the business and its shareholders.

The news came as the cross-border payments firm delivered a 17% increase in underlying pre-tax profits to £282m, with revenues rising 15% to £1.21bn.

On the downside, WPP, Sainsbury's and Vodafone were all weaker as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.

Wizz Air tanked as it said full-year operating profit tumbled to €167.5m from €437.9m a year earlier.

CMC Markets was also under the cosh after full-year results.

Outsourcer Mitie fell sharply after saying it has agreed to buy AIM-listed Marlowe in a £366m deal. Under the terms of the acquisition, Mitie will pay 1.1 in new Mitie shares and 290p per share in cash.

This is a premium of about 26.5% to the closing Marlowe share price on Tuesday, which was the last day before market speculation of an approach.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,807.62 0.07% FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,029.55 -0.42% techMARK (TASX) 4,894.80 -0.17%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Fresnillo (FRES) 1,284.00p 1.74% Anglo American (AAL) 2,251.00p 1.07% Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,864.50p 0.92% GSK (GSK) 1,504.50p 0.77% Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 5,066.00p 0.75% Ashtead Group (AHT) 4,308.00p 0.75% Pearson (PSON) 1,102.00p 0.73% Glencore (GLEN) 290.20p 0.66% Experian (EXPN) 3,739.00p 0.59% Spirax Group (SPX) 5,790.00p 0.52%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

WPP (WPP) 557.20p -3.92% Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 274.60p -3.38% Vodafone Group (VOD) 73.70p -2.87% Whitbread (WTB) 2,823.00p -1.97% easyJet (EZJ) 576.00p -1.57% Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,120.00p -1.52% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 330.90p -1.31% Entain (ENT) 743.60p -0.85% InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 8,402.00p -0.78% Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 3,890.00p -0.77%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Dr. Martens (DOCS) 68.00p 9.42% Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,116.00p 1.83% VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 430.50p 1.77% Patria Private Equity Trust (PPET) 554.00p 1.65% Hays (HAS) 71.80p 1.48% Edinburgh Worldwide Inv Trust (EWI) 168.00p 1.45% Hammerson (HMSO) 281.60p 1.30% Ithaca Energy (ITH) 144.40p 1.26% Hochschild Mining (HOC) 288.80p 1.12% Chemring Group (CHG) 560.00p 1.08%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,264.00p -22.58% CMC Markets (CMCX) 250.00p -12.13% Mitie Group (MTO) 144.60p -9.40% Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,720.00p -4.44% Pets at Home Group (PETS) 263.60p -3.51% TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 4,390.00p -3.09% THG (THG) 24.60p -2.84% Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,685.00p -2.66% Energean (ENOG) 880.00p -2.60% Harworth Group (HWG) 167.00p -2.34%