London stocks were little changed by midday on Tuesday, with Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment riding high after well-received results, as investors mulled the latest retail sales data.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 7,124.60.
AJ Bell financial analyst Danni Hewson said: “The FTSE 100 was struggling for direction like a new driver without their satnav on Tuesday morning as investors weighed a weak session on Wall Street overnight and slowing growth in UK consumer spending.
“With the flood of big companies reporting on both sides of the Atlantic slowing to a trickle and with trading volumes seeing their usual summer lull there is a sleepy feel to the markets at present.
“However, previous experience suggests it might not take much to jolt investors awake, six years ago an August sell-off in China prompted a sharp correction around the globe.
“Mounting concern that the spread of the Delta variant might set back the Chinese recovery, after it became the first major economy to emerge from the pandemic, is a risk the world will be watching.”
On home shores, market participants were digesting the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG, which showed retail sales growth eased in July. Total sales rose 6.4% over the month compared with July 2020, down from 10.4% growth in June.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “July continued to see strong sales, although growth has started to slow. The lifting of restrictions did not bring the anticipated in-store boost, with the wet weather leaving consumers reluctant to visit shopping destinations.
“Online sales remained strong, and with weddings and other social events back on for the summer calendar, formalwear and beauty all began to see notable improvement, so fashion outlets in particular saw a bounce back to pre-pandemic levels. As many people prepare to return to the workplace, purchase of home office equipment began to fall after months of high sales, meanwhile other homeware, such as furniture and household appliances continued to do well.”
In equity markets, M&G fell even as it posted a better-than-expected first-half adjusted operating profit.
InterContinental Hotels was weaker despite saying it swung to a profit in the first half as trading recovered from the pandemic hit.
Abrdn lost ground even as it posted a strong rise in first-half profit as revenue rose and outflows of funds eased at the rebranded investment manager.
On the upside, Flutter Entertainment was sitting pretty at the top of the FTSE 100 after it said first-half earnings rose 75% as the gambling group benefited from the acquisition of Stars in the US. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased to £597m from £342m in the six months to the end of June from a year earlier as revenue doubled to £3.05bn from £1.54bn.
Regus owner IWG gained after it said demand was strong as the flexible office group swung to a first-half loss after the Covid-19 crisis hit trading early in the period.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,124.60 -0.11%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,552.16 0.42%
techMARK (TASX) 4,673.63 0.83%
FTSE 100 – Risers
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 14,025.00p 8.38%
Entain (ENT) 1,969.50p 1.89%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 177.40p 1.84%
Aveva Group (AVV) 4,021.00p 1.46%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,474.50p 1.38%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,393.00p 1.31%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 7,902.00p 1.23%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,660.00p 1.22%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 6,534.00p 1.16%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,399.00p 1.12%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
M&G (MNG) 229.80p -3.49%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,626.00p -2.30%
Abrdn (ABDN) 291.60p -2.05%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,257.50p -1.68%
Next (NXT) 7,938.00p -1.66%
Fresnillo (FRES) 770.40p -1.63%
BHP Group (BHP) 2,263.00p -1.22%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,495.00p -1.16%
SSE (SSE) 1,605.00p -1.14%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 406.20p -1.11%
FTSE 250 – Risers
Network International Holdings (NETW) 363.40p 4.25%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 1,066.00p 4.10%
IWG (IWG) 331.40p 3.76%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 279.80p 3.63%
Volution Group (FAN) 490.50p 3.26%
Capita (CPI) 44.37p 3.19%
Man Group (EMG) 214.50p 2.48%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 415.20p 2.32%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,540.00p 2.21%
Bodycote (BOY) 927.50p 2.20%
FTSE 250 – Fallers
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 299.50p -3.39%
Indivior (INDV) 161.50p -2.89%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 272.60p -2.50%
Investec (INVP) 280.00p -2.20%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 19.45p -1.87%
SSP Group (SSPG) 246.10p -1.83%
Greencore Group (CDI) (GNC) 129.00p -1.53%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 273.20p -1.44%
FirstGroup (FGP) 90.05p -1.37%
Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 118.60p -1.33%
