London open: Stocks tick up amid US-UK trade deal hopes, ahead of BoE

(Sharecast News) - London stocks ticked up in early trade on Thursday as investors awaited an expected US-UK trade deal announcement later in the day and a 25 basis points rate cut from the Bank of England.

At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 8,575.66.

Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "There's a fresh sense of optimism in the air, with the FTSE 100 opening 0.3% higher as markets react to the latest trade news. The US and China may finally be sitting down to talk and, closer to home, there's expected to be a UK-US agreement announced later today.

"The auto industry will be paying particular attention, given the current 25% auto tariff is a tough pill to swallow. Aside from trade talks, it's central bank decisions that are dominating the newsreel this week. While the US Fed held things steady, UK rates are expected to see some action, as the combination of a weaker growth outlook and better than expected inflation offers enough wiggle room to cut."

Investors were also mulling the latest data from Halifax, which showed that house prices rose in April for the first time since January.

House prices edged up 0.3% on the month following a 0.5% decline in March and a 0.2% drop in February.

On the year, house prices rose 3.2% in April following 2.9% and 2.8% growth in March and February, respectively.

The average price of a property stood at �297,781 last month, compared to �296,899 in March.

Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said: "We know the stamp duty changes prompted a surge in transactions in the early part of this year, as buyers rushed to beat the tax-rise deadline. However, this didn't lead to a significant increase in property prices, with the last six months characterised by a stability in prices rarely seen since the pandemic. While the market has cooled slightly since this rush, buyer activity remains strong in comparison to recent years.

"Mortgage rates have continued to fall, with most lenders now offering rates below 4%. Coupled with positive earnings growth that has outpaced broader inflation, these factors have helped to steadily improve affordability for many buyers.

"Overall, the market continues to show resilience despite a subdued economic environment and risks from geopolitical developments. There is likely to be a bump-up in consumer price inflation as household bills increase, but with further base rate cuts also expected, we anticipate a similar trend of modest price growth this year."

In equity markets, Weir Group was the top performer on the FTSE 100 after an upgrade to 'buy' at UBS.

IMI was among the big risers as the engineering firm reaffirmed its guidance for the full year.

Fashion and homeware retailer Next rose as it lifted annual profit guidance after reporting forecast-busting first-quarter sales, citing warmer weather which boosted purchases of summer clothing, but held annual estimates of flat revenues.

InterContinental Hotels gained after saying it was on track to meet full-year consensus profit estimates, despite softer economic indicators and the impact of US tariffs and immigration policies.

Harbour Energy surged as it increased its production outlook a day after announcing plans to cut 250 jobs in Aberdeen.

Centrica tumbled as the British Gas owner cautioned that its residential energy business has been impacted by warmer than usual weather in the second quarter.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,575.66 0.19%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,426.87 0.44%

techMARK (TASX) 4,606.26 0.14%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Weir Group (WEIR) 2,382.00p 3.12%

Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 950.00p 2.81%

IMI (IMI) 1,842.00p 2.73%

Mondi (MNDI) 1,137.00p 2.43%

Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,069.00p 2.27%

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 8,790.00p 2.11%

Melrose Industries (MRO) 456.60p 2.06%

Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) 1,964.00p 2.03%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 781.40p 2.01%

Spirax Group (SPX) 6,100.00p 1.92%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Centrica (CNA) 148.30p -6.79%

Airtel Africa (AAF) 163.90p -3.76%

Vodafone Group (VOD) 69.78p -2.51%

BT Group (BT.A) 162.95p -2.10%

Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 17,905.00p -2.08%

AstraZeneca (AZN) 10,338.00p -1.58%

Fresnillo (FRES) 1,039.00p -1.42%

SSE (SSE) 1,690.00p -1.14%

Severn Trent (SVT) 2,728.00p -1.12%

National Grid (NG.) 1,065.50p -0.98%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Harbour Energy (HBR) 173.00p 10.12%

Renishaw (RSW) 2,450.00p 7.22%

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 74.20p 6.00%

Breedon Group (BREE) 469.40p 5.25%

Ferrexpo (FXPO) 64.50p 4.88%

Future (FUTR) 749.00p 4.03%

Grafton Group Ut (CDI) (GFTU) 969.60p 3.90%

Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 560.00p 3.61%

Balfour Beatty (BBY) 491.00p 3.06%

Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 376.50p 2.87%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Playtech (PTEC) 308.50p -61.44%

TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 4,600.00p -5.35%

Dr. Martens (DOCS) 52.50p -4.20%

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 283.00p -3.48%

Petershill Partners (PHLL) 213.50p -3.17%

Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 3,530.00p -2.49%

Trainline (TRN) 262.40p -2.38%

Helios Towers (HTWS) 110.40p -2.13%

Discoverie Group (DSCV) 570.00p -2.06%

Hammerson (HMSO) 251.40p -1.87%