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London open: Stocks tick lower as Black Friday kicks off
London stocks nudged lower in early trade on what looks to be a fairly quiet end to the week, with traders likely to be distracted by the hunt for some Black Friday deals.
At 0830 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.1% to 7,411.03, while the pound was up 0.1% against the euro and the dollar at 1.1239 and 1.3320, respectively.
Retailers were in focus as Black Friday sales kicked off. Analyst Clive Black at broker Shore Capital said: “At an underlying level we sense that the event is losing some of its gusto on this side of the Atlantic.”
However, he said overall activity levels, and so discounts, this calendar year “may be enhanced by somewhat unplanned stock clearance for those British retail businesses that have had a poorer than anticipated October, where secondary data has been on the mellow side, and maybe November too”.
Next was on the back foot as it took part in Black Friday for the first time – despite CEO Simon Wolfson having previously said it “doesnât make sense to get involved” – while B&Q owner Kingfisher was also in the red, along with Marks & Spencer, which is not taking part in the event.
Rio Tinto slipped after it said that it and China’s Sinosteel Corporation have agreed to extend their Channar Mining joint venture. The third extension of the joint venture would see an additional 10 million tonnes of iron ore delivered into the venture from Western Australia.
Listed residential landlord Grainger nudged lower after announcing the acquisition of a stabilised portfolio of three blocks in Manchester, comprising 192 private rented sector homes, for £26m.
Beleaguered doorstep lender Provident Financial retreated as it said that executive chairman Manjit Wolstenholme has died. Malcolm Le May, senior independent director, has been appointed interim executive chairman with immediate effect.
William Hill was also on the back foot after confirming it is in “very preliminary” talks with Australia’s Crown Resorts about a possible merger of their local online businesses.
James Fisher slumped as it reported a rise in revenue for the 10 months to the end of October but warned that the full-year contribution from its offshore oil division will be lower than last year.
Whitbread was weaker after AlphaValue cut the stock to ‘reduce’ and UBM was down after a downgrade to ‘hold’ by Liberum.
Going the other way, Experian was up following an upgrade at Exane BNP Paribas, while Informaand Rotork were boosted by upgrades from Liberum.
Still to come on the data front, BBA mortgage approvals are at 0930 GMT.
