London close: Stocks pare earlier losses as investors buy the dip

(Sharecast News) - UK stocks trimmed losses after a late rally into the close, with the FTSE 100 finishing just 0.2% lower after hitting a two-month high the previous session.

London's benchmark index finished the day just 21.87 points lower at 10,508.02, bouncing off an earlier low of 10,404.73. The index settled at 10,529.89 on Thursday, its highest close since 20 April.

Stocks fell sharply early on amid renewed concerns about relations between the US and Iran following reports the latter was responsible for an attack on a cargo ship near the coast of Oman.

Brent crude, however, still dropped 4.0% on the day to $72.48 a barrel, hitting its lowest level since late February.

Meanwhile, the sell-off across the global tech sector continued to dampen sentiment, with Apple in focus after hiking prices on iPads and MacBooks, citing rising memory and storage chip costs, while Microsoft lifted the price of Xbox consoles.

"Dip buyers have come storming in this afternoon to steady the ship after the wave of selling of the last 18 hours," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.

"The recovery is a testament to the staying power of this rally, but holding on to gains has proved problematic throughout the week."

Sainsbury's gains

There wasn't any major corporate news moving shares on the FTSE 100, but Sainsbury's was higher ahead of a first-quarter trading update next Tuesday. Previewing the update, UBS said it expects Q1 grocery growth of around 3.5%, in line with consensus, reflecting weaker industry data driven by weather, disinflation and stabilising or improving competitors.

"We expect the longer 16-week period to benefit from better late-May weather, though against tough comps," the bank said. UBS also said it was looking for full-year guidance to be reiterated, reinforcing confidence in profit delivery despite softer Q1 sales.

Defensive British American Tobacco, Reckitt Benckiser, Imperial Brands and Diageo also rose. Patrick Munnelly at Tickmill Group said the rotation into defensives "showed investors were not abandoning UK equities, but they were reducing economic sensitivity".

On the FTSE 250, pensions and insurance consulting and administration business XPS Group rose after buying the trade and assets of Austin Professional Resourcing, a UK-based specialist actuarial consultancy for �3.3m.

Berkeley Group slumped Berenberg downgraded the stock to 'hold' from 'buy'. It said its long-held admiration for the company's differentiated business model, with impressive operational and financial outcomes, is unchanged.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,508.02 -0.21%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,147.19 -0.06%

techMARK (TASX) 5,890.11 0.97%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 7,636.00p 5.44%

Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 4,890.00p 2.73%

The Sage Group (SGE) 817.60p 2.69%

Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,108.50p 2.35%

Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 4,931.00p 2.15%

Admiral Group (ADM) 3,524.00p 1.85%

Pearson (PSON) 1,176.00p 1.82%

Fresnillo (FRES) 2,868.00p 1.81%

AstraZeneca (AZN) 14,318.00p 1.68%

Compass Group 11 (CPG) 32.74p 1.49%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Croda International (CRDA) 3,020.00p -4.88%

Whitbread (WTB) 2,455.00p -2.85%

Airtel Africa (AAF) 334.20p -2.74%

BP (BP.) 469.40p -2.38%

Spirax Group (SPX) 6,870.00p -2.07%

Barclays (BARC) 510.70p -2.03%

Investec (INVP) 609.50p -1.93%

Abrdn (ABDN) 236.00p -1.83%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,406.20p -1.80%

IG Group Holdings (IGG) 1,826.00p -1.72%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 180.40p 4.40%

Rosebank Industries NPV (ROSE) 323.00p 3.69%

Playtech (PTEC) 308.20p 3.63%

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 490.00p 3.38%

Diversified Energy Company (DI) (DEC) 990.00p 3.34%

Partners Group Private Equity Limited. (EUR) (PEY) 7.14p 3.18%

Endeavour Mining (EDV) 3,852.00p 2.91%

Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 124.10p 2.82%

Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 378.20p 2.72%

Pan African Resources (PAF) 102.50p 2.65%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 451.20p -11.36%

AEP Plantations (AEP) 156.86p -7.73%

Ithaca Energy (ITH) 214.00p -5.10%

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 37.00p -3.90%

Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,618.00p -3.57%

Vistry Group (VTY) 266.60p -2.77%

WPP (WPP) 247.20p -2.75%

Pacific Horizon Inv Trust (PHI) 1,150.00p -2.54%

Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 690.00p -2.54%

Seraphim Space Investment Trust (SSIT) 180.00p -2.39%