London open: Retail stocks continue to lift FTSE 100 to new heights

23rd Apr 2024 07:51

(Sharecast News) - UK stocks rose to another record high on Tuesday morning, rising for the fifth straight day, helped by a falling pound and another strong performance from retail stocks.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.5% at 8,062.2 after the first hour's trade, ahead of Monday's record closing high of 8,023.87, which topped the previous peak of 8,012.53 in February 2023.

"With the easing of tensions in the Middle East, safe-haven demand reversed course; global stock markets experienced a modicum of relief," said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.

UK stocks in particular have been lifted by a falling GBP-USD rate over the past week on hopes that the Bank of England will soon start to cut interest rates as inflation begins to drop sharply; while projections for rate cuts by the Federal Reserve continue to be pushed back which has supported the dollar.

In economic data, UK government borrowing overshot forecasts in March, producing a budget deficit that was £6.6bn higher than expected. Public sector net borrowing, excluding state-controlled banks, came in at £12bn in March, the Office for National Statistics said. This was above expectations of around £10bn.

Elsewhere, the HCOB Flash composite purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the eurozone beat forecasts as continued strength in the services sectors outweighed weakness in manufacturing. The eurozone PMI rose to 51.4 in April from 50.3 in March, beating the 50.8 forecast.

PMIs are also expected from the UK and US later on, which will be widely followed, along with speeches from Bank of England members Jonathan Haskel and Huw Pill.

Meanwhile, Wall Street will be waiting on the latest quarterly earnings results from blue chips Alphabet, GE Aerospace, General Motors, Tesla, UPS, Spotify, Visa and Lockheed Martin.

"The nature of the soft rebound, whether it's a dead cat bounce, a short-covering rally, or the beginning of a more promising trend, hinges largely on how investors interpret the earnings landscape and in which direction US economic data unfolds in the coming days," Innes said.

Ferrexpo bucks the trend

Mining stocks dominated the fallers lists on Tuesday, with Anglo American, Fresnillo, Rio Tinto, Glencore and Antofagasta dominating the fallers list on the FTSE 100.

However, on the FTSE 250, iron ore developer Ferrexpo jumped 10%, bouncing back after a big share-price fall last month, after a first-quarter production report showed a 203% in total output.

Leading the risers on the top-tier index was Primark owner Associated British Foods, surging 9% after posting a 37% jump in interim profit as it lifted its full-year earnings outlook. Looking ahead, AB Foods said it was on track to deliver "significant" growth in both profitability and cash generation ahead of expectations at the start of this financial year.

JD Sports Fashion was also riser after announcing it was buying retailer Hibbett for $1.08bn. Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, Nasdaq-listed Hibbett has 1,169 stores in 36 states across the US trading under the Hibbett and City Gear fascias.

Other retailers were also in demand, such as Ocado Group and Marks & Spencer.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,062.20 0.48%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,658.36 0.30%

techMARK (TASX) 4,489.39 0.64%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,740.00p 9.34%

Ocado Group (OCDO) 377.80p 5.41%

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 124.55p 5.15%

Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 261.50p 1.91%

Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 4,036.00p 1.66%

Schroders (SDR) 378.40p 1.61%

Standard Chartered (STAN) 682.00p 1.58%

St James's Place (STJ) 438.20p 1.58%

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 177.80p 1.48%

Barclays (BARC) 191.98p 1.48%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Anglo American (AAL) 2,112.00p -2.22%

Fresnillo (FRES) 577.00p -1.70%

Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,305.00p -1.50%

Glencore (GLEN) 468.45p -1.36%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,174.00p -1.23%

Croda International (CRDA) 4,929.00p -0.88%

Smith (DS) (SMDS) 352.00p -0.79%

Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,540.00p -0.28%

Rentokil Initial (RTO) 425.50p -0.23%

IMI (IMI) 1,723.00p -0.17%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ferrexpo (FXPO) 52.80p 9.54%

Petershill Partners (PHLL) 196.60p 5.70%

Apax Global Alpha Limited (APAX) 144.40p 2.70%

Bodycote (BOY) 704.00p 2.47%

Mobico Group (MCG) 55.40p 2.31%

International Distributions Services (IDS) 281.60p 2.25%

Elementis (ELM) 144.00p 2.13%

Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 755.80p 1.89%

Trustpilot Group (TRST) 186.00p 1.86%

NCC Group (NCC) 127.40p 1.76%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,646.00p -4.30%

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 148.80p -2.75%

Senior (SNR) 157.20p -1.75%

Centamin (DI) (CEY) 123.80p -1.75%

Me Group International (MEGP) 161.00p -1.59%

The Global Smaller Companies Trust (GSCT) 157.00p -1.38%

Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited NPV (SONG) 101.40p -1.17%

Dr. Martens (DOCS) 71.45p -0.90%

Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 123.00p -0.81%

Impax Environmental Markets (IEM) 383.50p -0.78%