London midday: Stocks muted as investors eye central bank speakers

by | Apr 21, 2022

London stocks were still little changed by midday on Thursday as investors eyed key speeches from central bank officials.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 7,635.08.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said market participants were looking ahead “to comments from the central bank holy trinity of Fed chair Jay Powell, ECB President Christine Lagarde and Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey, who are all due to speak in Washington DC”.

“Lagarde’s comments will be closely scrutinised after yesterday’s comments from Latvian Governing Council member Martin Kazaks said that a rate rise in July was possible, and that tightening measures needn’t have to wait for evidence of wages growth. Those comments were in contrast to the tone of Lagarde’s ECB press conference earlier this month, so it will be notable if she doesn’t push back on them.”

In equity markets, BA owner IAG, and budget airlines Wizz and easyJet all flew higher following well-received first-quarter results from United Airlines across the pond.

Pest control group Rentokil Initial rallied after it said that 2022 had started well, with strong momentum from the prior year continuing into Q1.

Clays bricks and concrete products manufacturer Ibstock also rose after saying its FY22 performance was set to be “modestly ahead” of its previous expectations following a strong start to the year , driven by stronger clay brick sales volumes and a resilient margin performance.

On the downside, gambling company Rank Group slumped after it cut its full-year EBIT guidance, pointing to a softer performance in March and inflationary pressures.

Anglo American slid after it said first-quarter production fell 10% year on year, impacted by peak Covid-related absenteeism, high rainfall affecting operations in South Africa and Brazil, and safety and other operational challenges at metallurgical coal and iron ore operations.

Miners in general were a drag, with Antofagasta also down after a first-quarter production report, while Glencore and Rio fell.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “It’s been a bad start to the year operationally for the big mining companies and their latest updates have served to act as a drag on the FTSE 100. Hot on the heels of Rio Tinto’s disappointing update was Anglo American flagging a tough first quarter and guiding for an increase in costs.

“Commodity producers have enjoyed soaring prices in the past year but their moment in the sun might be coming to an end. The key question now is whether commodity prices are close to their peak for this cycle as a reduction in selling prices together with rising costs will put a squeeze on profit margins.

“Shareholders in Anglo American can’t really grumble about its latest trading update as they’ve enjoyed a 24% share price gain over the past 12 months, more than double the FTSE 100’s 10.4% gain. But the news might make them think about banking some of the profits.”

Elsewhere, Legal & General, Glencore, BAE Systems, Jupiter Fund Management and Provident Financial were all trading without entitlement to the dividend.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,635.08 0.08%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,235.64 0.72%
techMARK (TASX) 4,427.69 0.43%

FTSE 100 – Risers

Royal Mail (RMG) 363.00p 7.14%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 154.00p 6.93%
ITV (ITV) 76.56p 5.51%
Pearson (PSON) 799.80p 4.22%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 128.30p 3.43%
Kingfisher (KGF) 272.20p 3.30%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,519.50p 3.23%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,675.50p 3.01%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 529.00p 2.76%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 95.96p 2.72%

FTSE 100 – Fallers

Anglo American (AAL) 3,677.00p -8.88%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,500.00p -8.31%
Glencore (GLEN) 493.15p -4.96%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 264.90p -4.64%
BAE Systems (BA.) 733.40p -4.08%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,677.00p -2.96%
National Grid (NG.) 1,168.00p -1.06%
Tesco (TSCO) 264.60p -0.71%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 3,774.00p -0.63%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,668.50p -0.60%

FTSE 250 – Risers

Polymetal International (POLY) 265.00p 13.39%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 598.00p 9.72%
Ibstock (IBST) 179.30p 7.75%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 3,234.00p 7.19%
easyJet (EZJ) 597.20p 5.85%
SSP Group (SSPG) 240.80p 5.34%
Darktrace (DARK) 429.40p 4.43%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,497.00p 4.32%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 155.15p 4.02%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 246.30p 3.49%

FTSE 250 – Fallers

Rank Group (RNK) 118.00p -8.10%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 388.20p -5.32%
AJ Bell (AJB) 277.80p -4.54%
Provident Financial (PFG) 256.40p -4.26%
Moonpig Group (MOON) 207.20p -3.18%
Abrdn Private Equity Opportunities Trust (APEO) 497.00p -2.93%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 203.60p -2.77%
888 Holdings (888) 198.70p -2.60%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 765.00p -2.17%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 239.00p -2.05%

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