London open: Stocks bounce back; IHG rallies on results

6th Aug 2024 08:06

(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Tuesday, bouncing back from a heavy selloff the day earlier which saw global markets plunge.

At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.6% at 8,055.37, having closed down 2% on Monday.

Stocks tumbled on Monday after the non-farm payrolls report for July released on Friday came in much weaker than expected, fuelling concerns the US Federal Reserve may have made a mistake by not cutting rates last week.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "After a decline of 2% yesterday, the FTSE 100 nudged ahead in early trade, with some of the largest fallers recouping part of their losses, most notably Melrose Industries, Pershing Square and Scottish Mortgage.

"Well received numbers from InterContinental Hotels provided another boost, while the very nature of the index, being awash with stable and established companies, may well have attracted some overseas buying interest by way of defensive positioning.

"Having recovered some of its poise, the premier index remains ahead by 4% so far this year, although the end to the volatile state of global markets cannot be called just yet."

In equity markets, InterContinental Hotels rallied after saying its bottom line shrank by 10% in the first half due to the planned reduction of its so-called System Fund surplus, but underlying profits improved by 12% due to solid margin improvements and an acceleration in RevPAR growth in the second quarter.

Operating profit from reportable segments improved to $535m, up from $479m the year before.

Keller surged as it said its full-year performance was set to be "materially ahead" of current market expectations after a strong first half.

Waste management firm Renewi gained as it reported growth in first-quarter revenue and underlying EBIT, while Abrdn was in the black as first-half operating came in better than expected.

On the downside, Domino's Pizza fell as it warned full-year profit would be towards the lower end of the current range of market expectations after a slower start to the first half.

Travis Perkins was also weaker as it posted a drop in first-half profit, pointing to continued weak demand across its end markets, and cut its profit outlook for the year.

Rightmove lost ground as it said its contract with OpenRent will end on 1 September, but reiterated its revenue and margin guidance for the full year.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,055.37 0.59%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,481.19 1.21%

techMARK (TASX) 4,709.62 0.26%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Melrose Industries (MRO) 469.40p 3.87%

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 7,568.00p 2.91%

Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) 1,973.00p 2.65%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 454.40p 2.39%

Barclays (BARC) 210.95p 2.30%

Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,562.00p 2.30%

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 122.70p 2.25%

British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,748.00p 2.04%

BT Group (BT.A) 136.35p 2.02%

Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 782.80p 1.93%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 0.00p -100.00%

Rightmove (RMV) 525.80p -4.05%

Haleon (HLN) 364.90p -1.16%

AstraZeneca (AZN) 12,382.00p -0.61%

Relx plc (REL) 3,450.00p -0.49%

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,848.00p -0.43%

Unilever (ULVR) 4,734.00p -0.40%

Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,920.00p -0.33%

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 9,556.00p -0.33%

Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,165.50p -0.13%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Keller Group (KLR) 1,568.00p 13.79%

Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 325.00p 5.18%

Wood Group (John) (WG.) 134.50p 5.08%

Renewi (RWI) 670.00p 4.36%

Ithaca Energy (ITH) 120.10p 4.25%

Future (FUTR) 1,073.00p 3.97%

HGCapital Trust (HGT) 499.00p 3.85%

Auction Technology Group (ATG) 467.50p 3.77%

Abrdn (ABDN) 165.95p 3.69%

Indivior (INDV) 1,042.00p 3.68%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Alliance Trust (ATST) 0.00p -100.00%

North Atlantic Smaller Companies Inv Trust (NAS) 0.00p -100.00%

Network International Holdings (NETW) 0.00p -100.00%

Bloomsbury Publishing (BMY) 0.00p -100.00%

NB Private Equity Partners Ltd. (NBPE) 0.00p -100.00%

Foresight Group Holdings Limited NPV (FSG) 0.00p -100.00%

BlackRock Greater Europe Inv Trust (BRGE) 0.00p -100.00%

Scottish American Inv Company (SAIN) 0.00p -100.00%

TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 0.00p -100.00%

Capital Gearing Trust (CGT) 0.00p -100.00%