London midday: Stocks maintain losses; UK labour market in focus

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still in the red by midday Tuesday amid elevated oil prices, as civil unrest in France and Italy continued to dent sentiment, and as investors mulled the latest UK jobs data.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.5% at 10,709.19, while sterling was up 0.3% against the dollar at 1.3343 after figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the unemployment rate unexpectedly dipped in August, although the number of vacancies also continued to fall.

The unemployment rate in June to August was 4.7%, better than the 4.9% markets were expecting and down 0.1 percentage points on both the year and quarter.

However, vacancies also fell, by an estimated 2.9% quarter-on-quarter in the three months to September, as small firms opted to hold back on hiring amid higher costs. It was the largest fall since the start of the year.

David Freeman, deputy director of labour market statistics at the ONS, said: "The number of vacancies has seen its largest fall since the start of the year, concentrated mainly within smaller businesses, which cite increased labour costs as a key factor."

Wage growth, meanwhile, remained relatively stable. Annual growth in employees' average regular earnings excluding bonuses was 3.7%, up from 3.6% and marginally ahead of consensus for no change. Including bonuses, and growth slowed to 3.7% from 3.9%, the lowest rate in nearly six years.

Driving the growth was the public sector, where annual average regular earnings growth was 6.3% compared to 3% in the private sector.

Neil Wilson, UK investor strategist at Saxo Markets, said: "Market odds for a rate hike by the Bank of England shortened as the data a) builds on the better-than-expected GDP data showing the economy is doing actually ok; b) the labour market, which was the chief reason to hold off raising rates despite building inflation, is doing better than we thought; and c) because wage data indicates we may be starting to see second-order effects from prolonged higher energy prices."

In commodity markets, oil prices remained elevated, with Brent crude up 1.7% at $111.46 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate 5.7% higher at $109.60. Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: "We have come a long way from 'supply levels out of Hormuz are back at near pre-war levels'. The pressure on the global economy is continuing to build - Brent has been solidly above $100 for almost all of October, but now WTI has joined the party.

"Oil's relentless rise is a sign that all attempts at mediation are now essentially at an end, and with a third US carrier heading to the region the chances of post-midterms escalation is now high."

Investors were also looking ahead to the latest quarterly results from streaming giant Netflix, due after the close of US markets.

In equity markets, Bunzl slumped despite posting a rise in third-quarter revenue and reiterating its previously-upgraded full-year outlook.

Anglo American reversed earlier losses to trade lower as it posted a 5% decline in third-quarter copper production, driven mainly by unprecedented weather events in Chile, but said it was on track to meet full-year guidance.

Genuit tumbled after the provider of sustainable water and climate products warned that full-year profits would miss market expectations amid ongoing challenging market conditions. It now expects full-year underlying operating profit of around £84m, versus consensus expectations of £91m to £96m.

On the upside, Ocado surged as JPMorgan upped its price target on the stock to 460p from 290p and reiterated its 'overweight' rating, saying that operational momentum continues to build and there are several catalysts ahead.

DIY group Wickes also rose as it said it was on track to meet full-year expectations after reporting a 4% rise in third-quarter revenues driven by strong growth in retail trading.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,709.19 -0.52%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,168.90 -0.86%

techMARK (TASX) 6,187.79 -0.40%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Ithaca Energy (ITH) 298.50p 1.26%

National Grid (NG.) 1,203.00p 1.18%

AstraZeneca (AZN) 12,504.00p 0.90%

Tesco (TSCO) 542.60p 0.89%

Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 4,542.00p 0.84%

Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 5,518.00p 0.69%

Convatec Group (CTEC) 236.80p 0.59%

SSE (SSE) 2,517.00p 0.56%

United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,477.00p 0.54%

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 8,455.00p 0.54%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,223.00p -3.96%

Halma (HLMA) 3,296.00p -3.34%

Diploma (DPLM) 7,565.00p -3.01%

Rio Tinto (RIO) 6,509.00p -2.98%

Standard Chartered (STAN) 2,020.00p -2.74%

Fresnillo (FRES) 2,611.00p -2.61%

Weir (WEIR) 2,570.00p -2.36%

Abrdn (ABDN) 229.60p -2.21%

Lion Finance Group (BGEO) 12,130.00p -2.18%

IG Group Holdings (IGG) 944.00p -2.18%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 332.80p 5.23%

Wickes Group (WIX) 223.50p 3.71%

HGCapital Trust (HGT) 375.00p 2.46%

Trainline (TRN) 221.60p 2.12%

Young & Co's Brewery 'A' Shares (YNGA) 1,168.00p 1.92%

Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 1,065.00p 1.62%

Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 313.00p 1.29%

Harbour Energy (HBR) 299.80p 1.15%

Energean (ENOG) 752.00p 1.14%

The Global Smaller Companies Trust (GSCT) 189.40p 1.07%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Genuit Group (GEN) 245.20p -15.40%

Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 281.20p -7.13%

RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,630.00p -5.23%

Seraphim Space Investment Trust (SSIT) 178.60p -4.71%

Amaroq Ltd. Npv (DI) (AMRQ) 108.75p -3.33%

THG (THG) 35.84p -3.30%

Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 2.24p -3.28%

Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 266.00p -3.27%

Hays (HAS) 55.50p -3.21%

Pan African Resources (PAF) 113.80p -3.15%