London close: Stocks little changed; inflation in focus

(Sharecast News) – London stocks ended the day little changed on Monday amid worries about inflation and rising Covid cases in Europe, as investors mulled the latest comments from Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey.
The FTSE 100 ended the day up just 0.05% at 7,351.86.

Spreadex said inflation and Covid-19 cases were still weighing on the minds of investors.

“Andrew Bailey, head of the Bank of England, says he is ‘very uneasy about the inflation situation’, only increasing pressure for the BoE to put interest rates up as soon as possible.

“After this, many will be expecting the interest rates to go up in December, but some believe it is unlikely to have that much of a detrimental effect on UK markets, as the decision would almost be an inevitability and therefore already factored into the current price.

“Another big factor weighing on the FTSE today is the miners, after continued pressure from the COP26 statement, which announced a ‘phasing down’ of coal.

“Furthermore, across Europe, there has been further worry with rising COVID cases, that restrictions could come back into place even as soon as the Christmas holidays.”

In equity markets, IT provider Kainos slumped even as it reported a jump in first-half profit and revenue amid “robust” market demand.

B&M European Value slid after downgrades by Goldman Sachs and RBC Capital Markets, while easyJet flew lower after a downgrade to ‘reduce’ at Kepler Cheuvreux.

Going the other way, Avast was the top gainer on the FTSE 100 after NortonLifeLock satisfied the US antitrust condition for the acquisition of the cybersecurity firm.

Government outsourcer Serco rallied as it lifted profits guidance after better-than-expected trading in Australia and the UK from Covid-related work.

Shell was a high riser after the oil giant announced plans to abandon its dual share structure and move its tax residence to the UK from the Netherlands.

CMC Markets surged after the online financial trading group confirmed it was looking at a possible separation of its leveraged and non-leveraged divisions in order to unlock shareholder value. The shares were also underpinned by an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Jefferies.

Cineworld jumped after it said box office and concession revenues in October were at 90% of pre-Covid levels as “an excellent slate of films” drove a recovery.

Ascential was higher after announcing the acquisition of WhyteSpyder, an e-commerce software and digital merchandising business which helps brands succeed on Walmart’s digital marketplace, for an undisclosed sum. The company also said both editions of its Money20/20 event rebounded strongly this year.

Elsewhere, insurer Admiral was lifted by an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Berenberg.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,351.86 0.05%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,621.58 0.27%
techMARK (TASX) 4,607.53 -0.14%

FTSE 100 – Risers

Avast (AVST) 598.20p 7.05%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 7,166.00p 3.29%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 474.50p 2.79%
Royal Mail (RMG) 445.70p 2.77%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,328.00p 2.42%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,598.00p 2.21%
Royal Dutch Shell ‘A’ (RDSA) 1,676.40p 2.14%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,986.00p 1.91%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 8,968.00p 1.90%
Royal Dutch Shell ‘B’ (RDSB) 1,677.20p 1.44%

FTSE 100 – Fallers

Aveva Group (AVV) 3,265.00p -2.80%
Evraz (EVR) 603.20p -2.71%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 585.00p -2.40%
Darktrace (DARK) 570.50p -2.32%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 623.60p -1.98%
BHP Group (BHP) 1,923.40p -1.91%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,460.00p -1.88%
Informa (INF) 528.00p -1.68%
Glencore (GLEN) 362.15p -1.56%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,005.00p -1.48%

FTSE 250 – Risers

Cineworld Group (CINE) 67.00p 6.55%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 275.50p 6.37%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 326.30p 5.77%
Ascential (ASCL) 437.80p 4.24%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 199.70p 4.06%
AO World (AO.) 134.00p 3.72%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 2,960.00p 3.45%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 317.40p 3.44%
Volution Group (FAN) 537.00p 3.27%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 402.80p 3.23%

FTSE 250 – Fallers

Kainos Group (KNOS) 1,869.00p -9.31%
Domino’s Pizza Group (DOM) 366.00p -4.09%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 277.00p -3.35%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 1,612.50p -3.30%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,778.50p -2.79%
Auction Technology Group (ATG) 1,318.00p -2.23%
Grafton Group Ut (CDI) (GFTU) 1,243.00p -2.13%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 297.20p -2.04%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 316.20p -1.99%
Man Group (EMG) 231.90p -1.90%