(Sharecast News) - London stocks nudged higher in early trade on Thursday as Brent crude hovered above $100 a barrel and as investors eyed an expected 25 basis points rate hike by the European Central Bank.
At 0825 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 10,684.09, while Brent crude was down 0.5% at $100.72 a barrel, having breached the $100 level on Wednesday for the first time since 24 July, and West Texas Intermediate was 0.3% lower at $95.77.
Patrick Munnelly at Tickmill Group said: "The European Central Bank is the main event today, with markets fully priced for a 25 bps increase in the deposit facility rate to 2.50%. The hike itself is no longer the story; the reaction function is. Money markets now discount two further quarter-point increases by April 2027 as investors brace for a stickier inflation path.
"Crude above $100/bbl, tight European natural gas supply, El Nino-related food price risks and persistent tech-sector capex demand have combined to push the policy debate back in a hawkish direction.
"Add in firmer Eurozone PMIs and improving consumer confidence, and the Governing Council faces an uncomfortable question: whether supply shocks remain temporary noise or are beginning to seed second-round wage and pricing effects."
In equity markets, Premier Inn owner Whitbread was among the top performers on the FTSE 100 following an upbeat research note by Citi.
Associated British Foods tumbled as it said it expects full-year like-for-like sales at its Primark division to fall by 2.6% amid a tough consumer environment, adding that it also planned to introduce home delivery at the clothing retailer.
Primarks's total sales growth was expected to come in at 2% for both the fourth quarter and full year thanks to new stores and franchises. The company, which also owns food and ingredients operations, maintained full-year guidance.
Electrical products retailer Currys was a little weaker despite saying it remains comfortable with market consensus forecasts after a strong start to the new financial year. Group like-for-like revenues were up 7% year-on-year over the 17 weeks to 29 August, with the larger UK and Ireland division growing by 6% and the Nordics growing by 9%.
Animal genetics firm Genus slumped despite reporting a rise in full-year profit and announcing a £60m share buyback.
M&G, Baltic Classifieds, NCC and Prudential all fell as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,684.09 0.13%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,097.55 -0.05%
techMARK (TASX) 5,931.12 -0.34%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Fresnillo (FRES) 3,108.00p 1.84%
Compass Group 11 (CPG) 31.11p 1.67%
ICG (ICG) 1,946.00p 1.57%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,364.00p 1.51%
Relx plc (REL) 2,546.00p 1.23%
Abrdn (ABDN) 250.40p 1.13%
Entain (ENT) 502.00p 1.04%
BT Group (BT.A) 200.20p 0.96%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 4,029.00p 0.95%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 419.10p 0.89%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,863.00p -8.61%
M&G (MNG) 338.40p -1.86%
Pearson (PSON) 1,147.00p -1.80%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,031.50p -0.87%
Diageo (DGE) 1,585.00p -0.81%
Croda International (CRDA) 3,237.00p -0.77%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 476.40p -0.75%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 219.40p -0.72%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 951.60p -0.71%
Autotrader Group (AUTO) 486.60p -0.65%
FTSE 250 - Risers
IP Group (IPO) 70.30p 4.93%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 302.60p 4.59%
W.A.G Payment Solutions (EWG) 102.00p 4.40%
North Atlantic Smaller Companies Inv Trust (NAS) 416.00p 3.48%
Playtech (PTEC) 386.60p 2.87%
Hill and Smith (HILS) 2,860.00p 2.44%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 279.80p 2.26%
Foresight Environmental Infrastructure Limited (FGEN) 86.80p 2.12%
Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 609.00p 2.01%
ICG Enterprise Trust (ICGT) 1,460.00p 1.81%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 2.33p -5.97%
FirstGroup (FGP) 171.30p -3.79%
Genus (GNS) 2,134.00p -2.95%
THG (THG) 30.80p -2.52%
Rank Group (RNK) 84.90p -2.41%
Genuit Group (GEN) 253.80p -2.38%
Premier Foods (PFD) 187.30p -2.19%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 68.00p -2.16%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 438.00p -2.12%
NCC Group (NCC) 123.00p -1.91%
51.38 (0.48%)
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